Poem

He had been so still for so long, they believed Brother Ping to have died. Long also did they circle him, observing but unwilling to touch him or say his name. After many hours, Brother Lo sat in a brief meditation next to him, then turned and touched his shoulder. Brother Ping roused fully and smiled, sitting up straight and clapping his hands with delight. All were relieved, but some were also annoyed - that the work of rousing him had fallen to them unawares (an unexpected burden). Sighing, Brother Ping bowed to them all and said, "Every action that you take is a love letter to the world; it will be for the flourishing of love ... or the finishing. The poet himself is the start of every poem." It was a teaching complicated in its simplicity, and so it was that they all observed silence together until the evening meal.