Why the Moon Could Fall Out of Orbit, by Wade Kearley

         “Shogen asked: 'Why does the enlightened man not
          stand on his feet and explain himself?' And he also
          said: 'It is not necessary for speech to come from the
          tongue.'
                                                  Ekai, “The Gateless Gate”

The feet of enlightenment move but the ocean never overflows.
The head of enlightenment bows to look down on the heavens.
Such a body as this has no place to rest when the moon is falling.
You cannot describe it. You cannot picture it. It is a stranger.

Let the formless stranger sit his weight upon your shoulders.
Let your most intimate love bend your head to eat the dawning sky.
Such a body as this has no place to rest when the moon is falling.
You cannot admire it. You cannot touch it. It becomes familiar.

Praise will constrict your heart and bleed you while you wait;
But when you surrender to nothingness, stars are your footprints.
Such a body as this has no place to run when the moon is falling.
It has nowhere to hide. It is naked. It is your self.

When everything you know has left you like a cold wind,
then this journey you’re ending, here, will finally begin.
The path of the moon in heaven is an ordinary tide on earth.
When the world floods again, it will not be under water.

Because you have no words for this, words will open your mind.
The silence you split without speaking is your true voice.
Can such a body as yours know peace if the moon is rising?
You cannot sing it. You cannot lift it. It falls too fast towards the centre.