Koan Lite

                                                           
Koans
Rhetorical questions that are a chore to unwind.
It’s more than a theory they are quite unkind.
How are these riddles supposed to expand your mind?
If they are glimpse of the truth, then I must be blind.

Yet each mystically essential and vexing query,
Need not leave you so perplexed and weary.
Instead let’s lighten each ridiculous riddle,
From a concert violin to a simplistic fiddle.

We don’t need wording obtuse and uptight,
And need not put up such a fuss and a fight,
To still derive some clever offhanded insight.
       So, I propose an approach I’ll call  Koan Lite…





Koan Lite

If a nameless horse, were to take first place,  
Would a numberless jockey then claim the race?
Would the bettor gain, from the mare’s lack of a name,
Or lose each red cent; his head held in shame?


If a ventriloquist dies, in the middle of a joke,
Would the wooden dummy then have his own stroke?
If the puppeteer’s body was placed in a red velvet casket,
Would the puppet get buried in a green and yellow basket?

If a half empty glass, was emptied into the half-full of another’s,  
Would pessimism defer, then to brand-new druthers?
If the pourer was to begin, with his identical twin,
Would one claim victory, and the other never win?

If the two ended candle could be snuffed in the middle,
Would the over-driven fool still  have wood left to whittle?
If I lived forever, from endless daylight saving,
Would I die of boredom, or from too much shaving?   

If we collapsed infinity as a great endeavor,
Would that just be a containment of forever?
If we were able, to accept our certain death,  
Will we add indifference to our last dying breath?