Begging Bowl

My begging bowl

            holds bright emptiness

                        before me every morning

as I sit in sunlight, meditate.

            The green glow of the forest

                        pulls my mind outside

to sun-dappled leaves, filling up

            with monkey thoughts

                        that leap from tree to tree.

I thank them, ask them to kindly leave

            and they do, when I breathe in and out

                        the words of Thich Nhat Hanh

deep                 slow                calm                ease

            smile                release   

                        beautiful moment         

                        precious moment*

Grains of rice

            from the Buddha,

                        just enough to

feed me today.     

* From Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village Meditations (sounds true CD)                  

Elizabeth Tornes has published three chapbooks, Between the Dog and the Wolf, New Moon, and Snowbound.  Her poems have appeared in Boulevard, North American Review, Ploughshares, and Poetry Daily. She earned a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from the University of Utah, and lives in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin.