Going on a 10-day retreat

I'm going on a 10-day retreat at Spirit Rock. Here's a poem by the Japanese Zen poet Ryokan (trans. by John Stevens) that Jack Kornfield loves to quote:

Begging

Today's begging is finished; at the crossroads
I wander by the side of Hachiman Shrine
Talking with some children.
Last year, a foolish monk;
This year, no change!


And here's a poem I wrote based on an experience from my last retreat (exactly one year ago):

On Retreat at Spirit Rock

Emerging from the dining hall,
a crowd of us gathers in silence--
the bright circle of the moon
is edging over the hillside.

Link