GENINE KOUN LENTINE
POOL HALL
DHARMA TALK
Aim
your stick
not
the cue ball
KRYPTONITE
BIKE LOCK
DHARMA TALK
Do
not force
key
BRONX ZOO
AVIARY
DHARMA TALK
Keep your voice
low
and you will see
more birds
CHELSEA CAR WASH
24-HR DHARMA TALK
Neutral
no brakes
no steering
DHARMA TALK
AT THE CANAL ST. P.O.
STAMP MACHINE
Insert bills
straight
and carefully
Bills jam
when forced
Make your choice
when asked
regardless
of your credit
Insert bills
face up
or down
Up
or down
JET BLUE
DHARMA TALK
AT 21,000 FEET
Never
inflate life
vest inside
aircraft
LOGAN TERMINAL B
CELLPHONE
DHARMA TALK
The thinking
I have to do
is not by myself
I gotta talk
to those guys
in Buffalo
HAYDEN PLANETARIUM
DHARMA TALK
Remember: All seats
provide an equal view
of the universe
WEATHER.COM
DHARMA TALK
58°F
Feels Like
58°F
CROSSWALK
DHARMA TALK
You know
what happens, Jerry
These guys
are cheese merchants
Eddie buys a truck of cheese
every day
every day
of the week
They buy lots of cheese
That doesn’t mean
the door’s closed
to you
GRANDPA LENTINE’S
DHARMA TALK
TO DAD
I do the driving. Joe
I like the freeways
and I like my car
Genine Koun Lentine's poems, essays, and interviews have appeared in American Poetry Review, Diagram, Gulf Coast, Ninth Letter, O, the Oprah Magazine, Roger, and Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. She collaborated with Stanley Kunitz and Marnie Crawford Samuelson on The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden (W.W. Norton, 2005).
"Pool Hall Dharma Talk", "Kryptonite Bike Lock Dharma Talk", "Bronx Zoo Aviary Dharma Talk", "Chelsea Car Wash 24-Hr Dharma Talk", "Dharma Talk At The Canal St. P.O. Stamp Machine", and "Logan Terminal B Cellphone Dharma Talk" first appeared in Tricycle, Summer 2006. Reprinted with permission.