I come here to pray
in an abandoned temple
seekers are long gone

the road stops here
no reason to look back

on a dusty stool
a fly is still and serene
a shaft of sunlight

I sit by the fly
just two of us

the end of the long road
why am I holding a gun
aiming at nothing?

I seek no answer
there is no need

no end to turmoil
being awake in silence
stench of the temple

life and death are alike
soul is empty

a grave yard outside
flowers and grass are all dead
so are the tombstones

here I am to stay
and rest

–Suchoon Mo,
Frog Mantra (2012)
Accents Publishing

More from Frog Mantra and Suchoon Mo:

• “A Church and a Casino”
• “Nobody Seemed to Know”
• “One Thousand Frogs”
• “A Gentleman”
• “A Miracle”

Suchoon Mo is a Korean War veteran and a retired academic living in the semi-arid part of Colorado. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and taught at the University of Detroit and Colorado State University. He is the author of a number of scholarly papers and articles. His poems have been published in The Battered Suitcase, The Bitter Oleander, BlazeVOX, Dissident Editions, epiphany, Hobo Camp Review, Journal of Truth and Consequence, Lucid Rhythms, Mad Hatters’ Review, Message in a Bottle, The Muse, The Ranfurly Review, Segue, Spillway Review, The Tower Journal and others. His music compositions have also appeared in a number of publications.