I Have Not Lingered in European Monasteries

I have not lingered in European monasteries
And discovered among the tall
Grasses tombs of knights
Who fell as beautifully as their ballads tell
I have not parted the grasses
Or purposefully left them thatched

I have not released my mind
To wander and wait in those great distances
Between the snowy mountains
And the fishermen, like a moon
Or a shell beneath the moving water

I have not held my breath
So that I might hear the breathing of God
Or tamed my heartbeat with an exercise
Or starved for visions
Although I have watched him often
I have not become the heron
Leaving my body on the shore
And I have not become the luminous trout
Leaving my body in the air

I have not worshipped wounds and relics
Or combs of iron
Or bodies wrapped and burnt in scrolls
I have not been unhappy
For ten thousand years
During the day I laugh and
During the night I sleep
My favourite cooks prepare my meals
My body cleans and repairs it'self
And all my work goes well