Quietly hazel roots explore duff
twitching past rotting cottonwood
to sip snowmelt as it rushes past.
old brain trustingly mimics hazel
With the little dog, she investigates the nearby river. Water flows over stones, never the same water twice, but also never the same stones twice. A hazel tree attends hazel-ness. An osprey hammers the water surface and carries away surprised protein.
Fish and dragons live in the water without being aware
And they move around with the currents and the waves.
Since from the beginning they never left it, they neither gain nor lose,
If there were no delusions, then whence might enlightenment come?
And they move around with the currents and the waves.
Since from the beginning they never left it, they neither gain nor lose,
If there were no delusions, then whence might enlightenment come?
-- Collected Poems of Muuija (1178–1234) tr. Whitfield and Park