Aquinas Has Questions for Hakuin            . . . By this time he had lost his reputation,          which did not trouble him,          but he took very good care of the child.                                         — PAUL REPS, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones     So when they came to you — the weeping girl, her angry parents demanding to know Was it you? — did you surrender? What pearl were you hiding in your words Is that so?   And when they left the baby at your door, did you name the child Falsehood even though you loved her, bought her milk? Were you too poor in spirit to say more than Is that so?   And when a year had passed and back they came, weeping for your forgiveness, did you show them your wounds? They took the child — did you blame them? Is that what you meant by Is that so?     © Michael Fleming Brattleboro, Vermont February 2018