Just One Moment

morning coffee
steam rising French roast
incense curls beyond cup rim
rain fall soft

where is Mind
need I bother examining
Buddha purpose trying to escape 
cage of causes conditions?

1,861 miles birth home to Seattle
mighty crow flight
body has come that far 

Mind?
one square inch* 
hasn't moved an inch. 

871 miles Seattle to Las Vegas
Catholic priest ordination 1985

4,897 miles Seattle to Eihei-ji
Buddhist lay ordination 2025

Spiritual miles years
same Mind same question
stubborn thing hasn't budged

lying in summer grass
six years old
clouds drifting 
first question
who am I?

Thirty-one years married
then she was gone
four years on my own
persistent question
who am I now?

_______________________________________________________________
Classical Chinese poets use "one square inch" to refer to Mind or what is deepest in the human person. It is small compared to the world but capable of vastness.