Monasteries of the Heart

Old Monk's Journal: Journal Entry 239

Here is the poem for Friday, April 9. To celebrate National Poetry Month, I am posting a short poem, a question and prompt every other day during the month. Mostly they will be poems by my daily companions, the ancient Japanese and Chinese poets. I will do the prompt myself, either in prose or poetry, and invite you to join.

In my dream I saw
The spring wind gently shaking
Blossoms from a tree;
And even now, though I’m awake,
There’s motion, trembling in my chest.
--Saigyo

Do you like this poem? Why or why not? How does it make you feel?
Prompt: Use Saigyo’s first line “In my dream I….” and share a dream

In my dream I saw
the poet Mary Oliver writing
a poem dedicated to me:
she folded it carefully and called
“Open the door.” I never did
--Old Monk

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A blog by Mary Lou Kownacki
A personal journal captures what’s in the heart. Most of my adult life I’ve recorded my notes, brief reflections, poems, reactions to daily events in a journal. It is an ongoing source of monastic formation; the rich and raw material of life that helps shape my Monastery of the Heart. About a year ago, Old Monk began to appear on my journal’s pages. Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB, is the Monasteries of the Heart coordinator.

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