Patrick Pfister

Patrick Pfister

Disintegration

Only the roof ……split.
People pushing forward to devotion.

Due to the law of increase and emptiness,
…………autumn is ………..impossible.

…………New seed ………..can develop,
depends on the earth giving to a mountain.

Benevolent tranquility begins from below:
…………………people on the rise
………………………………………must wait.

…………..A view of danger:
disturbed, isolated, extreme

…………………………………downfall.

Opposition to self can no longer
be endured………. Forces no longer
submit.

…………………….Fruit falls, seeds sprout.
…………………….Nature destroys itself.

 

Source & Method

Erasure of randomly selected hexagrams from the “I Ching,” or “Book of Changes.” Although most famous as an oracle, this ancient Chinese text is in essence a treasure trove of moral philosophy and condensed wisdom. In condensing it further, I found not the chaos I expected but rather a kind of crazy wisdom, the compressed thunder of a new essence. The format and line breaks are inspired by the broken and changing lines of the I Ching itself. Source: the Richard Wilhelm translation rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes and simplified by W. S. Boardman.

Patrick Pfister’s recent books, Far From Home and North Beach Hotel, are available from Spuyten Duyvil Press. His poetry book, El Camino and Other Travel Poems, was published by Literary Laundry. He lives in Barcelona, Spain.

Issue 22