“Should I leave this burning house of ceaseless thought
and taste the pure rain’s single truth falling upon my skin?”
–Izumi Shikibu

Leave? Yes! Run, flee,
burst out of the flames
into that cool, crisp rain
you can feel, feel, feel
without the fortress of your
thoughts blocking sensation.
And if thoughts arise while
you run, throw them like kindling
back into the flames, and don’t
even turn around to watch
the smoke curl into the night.
Just go, far away from the walls
of your mind, far from the ceaseless
thoughts that spin and distort
everything real, everything true,
eroding joy and wonder.
Toss away your need to know
and open into mystery,
letting this world astound
and delight you, tasting
the pure truth dripping
from each moment.