(On the road to Kailash, Tibet, 2009)
There and Back Again
Pilgrimage
An ideal place
Seen through
An ideal lens
And so we go!
The journey of all souls
In endless procession
To the top of the world
Up above the highest heights
Where the air is thin
Light bright
Mind clear
Up where idealism
Meets the rutted road
As dust settles
To be just this
And then more of this
Bad food
Bad sleep
Bad roads
And good company
All within a beauty
Best appreciated
In retrospect
And coffee table books
In the moment
Self-flagellating
Down the path
To enlightenment
Seeking what
We’ve always had
But never held
A view of inner peace
Light and love
Purified of its dross
By the grind of the road
We pilgrim on
This endless dream
There and back again
There and back again….
(9/11/23)
(North face of Mt Kailash, Western Tibet, 2009)
For Kailash
Mind like the wind blew
Away when I let it go
The way of all things
(7/2009, first published in my first book of poems THE HEART OF IT, 2015)
(Tibetan teen at a tea house in Saga, Western Tibet, 2009)
With Light
I walked through the market
but there was nothing I wanted to buy,
nothing I thought I needed,
until the smile
on the faces of a few
gave me what can’t be bought,
and in that moment I drained the full cup
I’d been carefully holding
and filled it anew
with light.
(2019)
(Upper slopes of Emeishan, China, 2017)
Six Pilgrim Poems
In the Park
Belly full of chi
sky with gentle rain waters
dancers like flowers
My Dzogchen Realization
“Ah, Ah” says Raven
in play, in jest, proclaiming
primordial sound
The Way
Alone I wander.
Too tired to climb the peaks
I settle into the valley
Following the way.
Emeishan
In the mountain clouds
the peaks remain elusive
while trees dance and breathe.
On the Way
On the way
all effort
is exhausted in the doing
This Dream
simple and complete
everything is everything
in this dream of ours
(first published in my third book of poems, SUN MADE FLESH AND FIBER, 2019)
Master Longchenpa’s heart advice is simple yet profound;
that everything we perceive is our mind’s projection,
and thus delusion,
that everything we experience is in flux,
temporary and not solidly real,
and thus illusion,
and that the path forward is one of letting go,
lightening up, being less heavy and serious,
more easy come, easy go…about it ALL.
This is the path of peace, and pristine purity,
the direct path to complete and perfect enlightenment.
In other words, it doesn’t get more clear and simple
helpful and direct than this.
And yet, as clear and simple as it is,
I am sure the vast majority of people
would not find it satisfying,
would not find it attractive,
would not find it offers enough.
You cannot fix samsara!
Yet that is what samsaric beings are bound to do;
samsara itself being the effect
of their desire to improve
their lot in Life
the pristine nature of their mind
the mirror-like nature of their experience.
Well then, welcome to samsara.
(4/22/23)
cold harsh desolate terrain
where life to us seems hostile and cruel
gardens painstakingly nurtured
with minimal returns
so much effort so little gain
yet a most appreciative and spiritual people
atop their mountains so close to God
AP: Honorable Mention 2022
Posted on October 13, 2022
tibet's ahimsa
calmly exudes its pulse of
peace and non-violence
AP: 3rd place 2022
Posted on October 6, 2022
Turbulent takeoff, tension thick
Tongue-tied terror, toxic trip
Tropical tornado tempestuous threat
Timbuktu touchdown, tomorrow Tibet.
Begin with a letter
T is letter chosen
Sponsored
by:
Angela Tune
02/07/2022
A Man from Tibet
There was a young man from Tibet
Who had wanted to become a vet. But bitten by the hog, And chased by the dog, He took to his bed instead.
If I weren't afraid I would join protesters in Tibet
in freedom's fight for the return of the Dalai Lama
exiled from his people and home in March 1959.
If I weren't afraid I would fly high into blue skies
and leap outside into a freefall skydive into the
air currents to feel the freedom of a soaring bird.
If I weren't afraid I would take the ski lift at Vail and
swiftly descend down mountain's powdered snow
to enjoy the thrill of winter's beautiful landscape.
If I weren't afraid I would swim with tropic sharks
in the crystal clear blue Pacific waters of my home
and take photographs of all the deep sea beauty.
If I weren't afraid I would climb Mount Kilimanjaro
to test my ability and endurance and to conquer the
treacherous climb for someone of my advanced age.
If I weren't afraid I would read my favorite poem to
a crowd of poetry lovers who may enjoy my words
and I would reciprocate theirs with loud applause.
This last challenge would my greatest fear of all!
9-11-19
Two boys of Tibet
There was a young boy of Tibet
Liked Swimming, but not getting wet
He said he would try
To swim when it’s dry
What a silly young boy of Tibet
Another young boy of Tibet
Had a Snowman he kept as a pet
That’s abominable said I
Yeti, couldn’t see why
Elusive was that Boy of Tibet
Tibetans,
Burning,
The flames everywhere.
One, two, three.......
Already self-immolated,23.
How many sparks will be?
Hundreds or thousands,
Maybe even more....
Gunfire,
Tibetans shot down,
One after another.
Now
Twelve Tibetans lie down in the blood,
Their bodies wrenched away
Never back.
Caught
To the jail.
An eagle snatching a sparrow.
Never to be seen again
Or seen crippled
Handicapped, an invalid.
Tibetans
In invisible manacles,
Surrounded by a metre wall.
Even for one step, bound.
Tibetans,
Unseen and unheard by
The world.
The pain
Only Tibetans can feel.
The words
Only Tibetans can hear.
The blood
Only Tibetans can see.
Because
It happens underground,
Where the world
Does not look.