The bread sits still, unmoved and unmoving
on the counter in the corner. It does not
think and it does not not think. It is there,
totally there, utterly plain in its bearing.
Without thought the bread rests deep and silent
like the smile on a stone Buddha and like a stone
Buddha smiling it attends to your hunger.
The bare thing is what it seems and in its
seeming abounds. It does not believe or grieve
but dwells in bliss a reverent matter.
Alive in its appearance alone, the bare thing
conceals more than it reveals. It pleases
your need for things pleasant and true and good
yet will not exhaust them or extinguish your need.
You and you alone know your heart's desire.
You and you alone can quit the craving.
