Monasteries of the Heart

Old Monk's Journal: Journal Entry 248

Here is the poem for Wednesday, April 28. 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.

First snowfall
of cherry petals
starting to scatter—
how hateful, tramping through it
over the pass from Shiga!
--Saigyo

Do you like this poem? Why or why not? How does it make you feel?
Prompt: Begin your writing response with the word “Frist” and see what happens.

First spring rain
First love
First cup of coffee (tea)
First born child
First prayer of the day

First daffodils
outside my window!
All morning I enjoy them.
When the school bell rings
children take handfuls of yellow home.
--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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