February 2026 Exchange Complete! Enjoy Two Sample Poems
This Exchange has the work of seven poets, including a tribute to Dr. Larry Ward suggested by another member of the Order of Interbeing.
It also features illustrations by Kat Gunther, a visual artist, poet, and graphic designer, who I have collaborated with in the past. You can find there work here:
and here: Instagram @katkitkatkitkatkit.
I am still looking to publish some essays or critical writing about Buddhist poetry in the Exchange! Please reach out if that interests you. I cannot guarantee publication.
Interested visitors may now request back copies of the Exchange via a Google form on the sidebar and in the welcome blog post.
Sample Poems:
"My Teacup is Very Large"
by Laura Z.
It contains the hot water, the strainer, the tea leaves, of course,
But also the seed, the soil, the minerals,
The sunshine, rain, and clouds,
Forests, mountains, atmosphere and oceans,
Farmer, truck driver, shop keeper,
Ancestors of farmer, ancestors of truck driver, ancestors of shop keeper,
Roads, trucks, ships, airplanes,
Protons, neutrons, electrons, neutrinos, photons,
Star dust, moon light, a comet's tail.
The whole cosmos, from beginningless time, fills up my tea cup.
Sipping my tea, I contain the whole cosmos, too.
Ego Deathing at Ovenbird Cafe, Cushing Square
by Jade Kleiner
coffee beans, disgust for my body, my fingers
clutching iced and sugared, hope, despair,
thinking of an ex: "give me something I can
nail myself to." Stop looking. In my breath
there is the burps of dinosaurs, the exhalations
of countless ferns and trees, the farts
of my ancestors, all in and out of my lungs here.
When I fart or burp, I join a lineage.
This business of respiration is thus serious!
Our lives balance on our breaths.
When I was young, instead of sleeping,
I'd calculate my life expectancy in my head.
Leaving Ovenbird, opening the door, a wave of
moroseness strikes me, I don't know why.
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