A WINTER JOG THROUGH SNOW WITH THE FRIEND FROM TAIWAN

Stefan Sencerz

July 14, 2024

So vast

white winter twilight

Fresh snow arrives

with you asking the question:

“Why Bodhidharma crossed the high seas?

What is the meaning of life?”

I wish I had the turning word

“Sky is blue? Snow is white?”

I know

I read it somewhere

“Lightly lay your feet on the ground”

is all I manage to say

We jog through the snow path flows

the river’s frozen

soft snowflakes settle on barren trees

You stop in half step 

in the midst of vast field 

“Master! Master!

This is better than getting laid!”

You yell throwing arms to the sky

I laugh, “Move on! Don’t lose your mind!

Lay your feet on the ground gently!”

We jog through the snow

step by step

I learn Plato and Aristotle from you

you Buddha and Lao-tze

sometimes you can learn something 

even from me

Calmly path melts

into the boundless morning

hoping one day

we’ll both forget

names for all colors and shapes

Stefan Sencerz, born in in Warsaw, Poland, came to the United States to study philosophy and Zen Buddhism. He teaches philosophy, Western and Eastern, at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. His essays appeared in professional philosophy journals (mostly in the areas of animal ethics and metaethics) and his poems and short stories appeared in literary journals. Stefan has been active on the spoken-word scene winning the slam-masters poetry slam in conjunction with the National Poetry Slam in Madison Wisconsin, in 2008, as well as several poetry slams in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Chicago.