in praise of dependent origination

the practice walk south
has landed me in san francisco..
the bill graham civic auditorium
with the 14th dalai lama..
two days of teachings on
interdependency.
there will be thousands
of others, traveling their
practice walk, to be in the
presence of tenzin gyatso.

on the way,
my dear project manager..
sir duck and his lovely wife..
took me to the "on the way"
rei store..
after much wading through
merrills, keens and vasques,
duck sighed and said:
"o...i had forgotten..
these are women..sigh...
women.. shopping for shoes...sigh"
he wandered to the book section
and buried himself in:
deep survival by lawrence gonzales

merrill boots made for walking
are now embracing toes,
worn down blisters, and callouses..
instructed to wear them slowly..
inside for hours before finding
the road ways..on the way..

to dependent arising..

"the great way has no gate.
clear water has no taste.
the tongue has no bone.
in complete stillness,
a stone girl is dancing."

zen master seung sahn