Chopstick Commandments

1. Avoid one chopstick longer than the other in a pair
   That would recall what a coffin is made of

2. Don’t plant them in the middle of a bowel of rice
   Or dish, like a scent burning for the dead

3. Never use them to poke around in a dish
   In the way a tomb raider works hard in dark

4. Put them strictly parallel to each other; or you
   Would have yourself crossed out as a deplorable error

5. If you drop one or both of them on the ground, you
   Will wake up and provoke your ancient ancestors

6. If you use them to beat containers like a drum player
   You are fated to live a low and poor beggar’s life

7. When you make noises with them in your mouth
   You betray your true self as a rude and rough pariah

8. Never point them towards anyone if you
   Do not really mean to swear at a fellow diner

9. Make sure not to pierce any food with them while eating
   When you do not mean to raise your mid-finger to all around you

10. To use them in the wrong way is
    To make yourself looked down by others

Mindful Mindset 

1/ Here: Into the Reality 

You see, here’s the leaf dyed with the full
Spectrum of autumn; here’s the dewdrop
Containing all the dreams made on the
Darkest corner of last night; here’s the
Light pole in the forest where gods land
From another higher world; here’s the swirl
You can dance with to release all your
Stresses against the Virus. Here you are in
Deed as in need embracing
The most
Mindful moment, when you can readily
Measure your feel with each breath, but do
Not think about time, which is nothing but
A pure human invention. Just point every
Synapse of yours to this locale. Here is now

3/ Now: The Art of Living  

   With my third eye I gaze into
The present moment, & there I find it
Full of pixels, each of which is
Unfurling slowly like a koru into
A whole new brave world that I 
Can spend days, even months to watch
As if from

          A magic kaleidoscope

Missing: for Qi Hong

Each time I miss you
A bud begins to bloom
So you are surrounded by flowers
Everywhere you go      

Each time I miss you
A dot of light pops up
So you are illuminated by a whole sky
Of stars through the night