Face to Face with My Lover
on Daito's Anniversary

Monks recite the sutras in honor of the Founder,
their many voices cacophonous in my ear.
Afterward, making love, our intimate whispers
mock the empty formal discipline of others.

Source for text and information: "The Erotic Spirit: An Anthology of Poems of Sensuality, Love and Longing", translated, edited w/introduction by Sam Hamill. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1996.