Zen Duende

by Glenna Luschei and Eric Greinke

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46 pages
Published 2016
Presa Press

In these enigmatic, often humorous poems, two elder poets explore the meaning of life and death, memory and attachment.

This book is a product of nearly three years of daily collaboration by Glenna Luschei and Eric Greinke. They began their exchange following the deaths of their longtime friends, poets, Hugh Fox and Harry Smith with each writing one line a day. The collection is presented in five contrasting sections that range from long poems to one-liners with titles that bear more than a passing resemblance to Zen koans.

Time and the Dream

By Eric Greinke and Glenna Luschei

We are at one with the other stars
especially the ones about to explode.
I am not ready to say goodbye to this glittering life.
I am burning hotter than ever,
a lotus arising from filthy waters
opening my petals to the sun.
Let all the bees come here for nectar.
Let all the locks open to my keys.
It is time at last for us to enter the forbidden room
where the eternal amaranth still blooms.
It is time for us to hold hands, imbibe the drug.
It is time for warm blood to flow between us.
When we awake it will be on another planet.
There we’ll breathe the air of dreams.