when i go away
leaves will swirl around
the bleached white sidewalk
near my home
as if i still walked there,
and crows will still watch from rooftops.
the black spotted dog and his
sidekick chihuahua will still race
along the fence to chase away my ghost.
if you look through the branches of
those flowering trees you'll see the
bluest sky.
i'm there between the petals
in the part that goes on forever.
in Nepal I saw a tear
fall from the eye of a Buddha
and splash upon the earth.
as I watched, a flower grew
in that very spot.
it was fragrant, like freshly
opened lilac or hyacinth.
the Buddha's gaze was
unperturbed, serene.
the flower danced in the
cool Himalayan breeze.
i had witnessed a miracle, and
yet…
i felt no surprise as
the flower bent toward me.
i leaned forward, until
my forehead touched its petals.
10,000 suns illuminated the sky
and i fell to the earth blind.
i heard a buzzing noise,
like a giant cicada coming
closer to my ears.
when it reached a volume
i could hardly bear,
it vanished and the light
shattered to thousands of pieces.
quiet on the mountaintop.
wind graced my hands and hair,
my eyes remained closed.
crunching on the gravel path behind me
as a traveller up the trail
made summit.
but when I opened my eyes
there was no Buddha,
no flower.
a woman, her dark hair shining in
the mountain air.
she took my face in her hands and
touched her forehead to mine.
she gave me water and I slowly drank.
