quoting silence

by normal

“where there are humans
          you’ll find flies,
          and buddhas”
                    — issa

i was fresh from the street
i met a poet
i wrote buddhist with many words
he wrote with few
i said many things
i said nothing
he said very little
he said all
i said
“words are the poets
tool”
he said
“words are the enemy
of the poet”
lao said
“true words are not
beautiful, beautiful
words are not true”
we stared at each
other in noisy calm
chiang she ch’uan said
“a reflection
appears on the water,
then is gone”
many flies
many buddhas
nothing
all