FOUR EXTRA FOR
SURVIVAL
by Brenda Smith
after Paranirvana by Lewis deSoto
I cannot say you
blocked my path
massive though you
are.
I can pass around
you, beyond you
but I cannot ignore
you
reclining on the hard
wooden floor
soles of your feet
staring us in the face
your eightfold path
turned twelvefold.
You have too many
paths, large Buddha,
too many spokes in
your wheel.
You, the incarnation
of the
twenty-first century
journey
with its too many
paths
diverging in a vacant
lot.
This is what happens
to the trailblazer
sometimes.
You launch out with a
new wisdom
and lose your way in
concrete
the city swallowing
your meditation
the way it swallows
nature.
No green to be found.
No soft path to
tread.
You need those four
extra spokes
to keep the sidewalk
from bruising your feet
as you walk the
cities of the world
heart wounded by what
you see.
So here, exhausted,
you lie.
The best place you
could find.
Art, a sanctuary in
the modern world
a bit of peace in the
cacophony
of millennial life.
Sleep well, brother
Buddha,
for now.
15 poets contributed to the event's 20 ekphrastic works which are on display with the art works that inspired them. Many thanks to Hickory Museum of Art for hosting us! Subscribe and stay posted for future events.
No comments:
Post a Comment