My friend cared for her mother the last years of her life until it was time for her to depart. She was willful and clung to her life, though it was painful and sad. She could not let go. The hospice caregivers came and rubbed her hands and feet with soothing lotion, put on her … [read more]
Poems
Where
Where ~~~~~ no one stays no one goes outside, the trees await the snow only staying always going quietly, the hills catch falling snow someone sees someone hears in here, so still wet snow rests ~~~~~ -Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe March 11, 2021
Frozen
Image courtesy Aaron Burden At six below zero the other side of the canyon holds its breath out my window across Six Mile Creek. The sun fills the frozen space between with a million dancing diamonds just for me. ~~~~~ -Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe 021421
Ango Pieces, Fall 2020
Sen-jo and her soul are separated Shōun sits alone up on Lee Hill the wind whips a branch out a window grey waves lap the shore in California the sun will set soon, in the west. 11.14.20 Sunday family Zoom-zazen Sunday family Zoom-zazen Seattle Oakland Massachusetts Colorado same breath, one body, our heart beats … [read more]
I dream in Zoom
I dream in Zoom. I Zoom in dreams. An idea I want to share stirs me at midnight and I awaken. I raise my electronic hand and unmute myself before speaking. I lose track of what’s been said because I was perusing someone’s bookshelf. I confess to making my rectangle larger in order to check … [read more]
Hồng Hà
October 2010 Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe Old Hanoi celebrates one thousand years on these muddy banks. Palm trees drip condensed fog, reflected in the glassy lake. The city oozes sticky humid haze. Scooters and motorbikes surge like salmon spawn. Everyone but me has thick black hair and dark eyes. I am conspicuous by size and … [read more]