Scaffolding on the Bodhisattva

Scaffolding on the Bodhisattva

Some pointing is always necessary

Above a scaffold made from the

Wood of a banyan tree.

Workmen whistle a tenfold harmony,                                                                              

Karma readjusts its garments

In a Cross legged refurbishment.

The benign smile bricked up

And strengthened with struts,

Contemplation of the navel

By plasterers and labourers.

The Consequences of Dust

The Consequences of Dust

Because it gathers

I cannot be without you.

As I am heading towards

A dustbowl

Like Woody Guthrie.

I am wrapped around you.

Though it may

Not be in my best interests

I am unable to deny the

Consequences.

I hoover up feelings

Empty the bag

Occasionally.

It can’t be stopped

Because it gains momentum.

I am ready.

The Animal that Prays

The Animal that Prays

I am the animal that prays

With one heart lilting in the dark

And loved by water.

Born to rule the brute

By law on many togues

Blind about the altar.

I am the animal that prays

With one heart pure in the light

And saved by water.

Bred to kill the beast

By Christ on many tongues,

Blood bibles the hands.

I am the animal that prays.

The Last Poem

The Last Poem

He assembled the usual confectionary

Tasted the sharp and bitter, lined them up

In rows and sprinkled the sugar that

Constitutes thought over their making.

Nothing would come of any of this

The number of candied scenarios

Piled in the recesses of books

Sticking to paper like toffee

And leaving indelible

Scripture on skin

Smudged tattoos

After years of needles.

Under loved and over rated

The nights and days jostled

Like children in queues

For the final piece of fudge.

a boiling pan of jam

Blistered and foamed

On a stove that rusted

Under flames.

This was the last making

And the last scent of his stink

Overdosing on the sugar

That had made nut brittle of his life

And made his reputation

The shiny wrappers

In the bins of the world.

Twenty five ewes and an eye

Twenty five ewes and an eye

You will remember we once had a cat

You had nothing to do with its passing

You have always kept your nails from dirt

You see the new sunrise and drink coffee

You fail to supply any of my needs or demands

You work without happiness and live without books

You don’t count the times you have hurt me

You are making food again without joy

You lie beside me like a cat

You will remember we once had a cat

You will remember how it ceased to be

You are as distant as you want to be.

You are in love with someone else

You worry when the dawn is less than beautiful

You give me books and their endless words

You never answer my questions with words

You touch my soul but never my body

You will not hear me crying in the night

You must sing when you are happy, do you?

You are the only one I would give me to

You are sleeping in another city

You have secrets that you do not tell

You are unrequited as you will always remain

You are walking alone, somewhere, smiling.

Zeus at Easter

Zeus at Easter

I won’t say I’m bitter

I’m more incandescent

Why no chocolate thunderbolts

or swan shaped cakes?

A piñata in the shape

of a bull or an eagle.

Decorative bonsai oak?

It could be a cool festival man,

But not a card from Aphrodite;

Apollo, Hercules, any of my kids,

Going to spend the day cloud gathering

disguising myself as a variety of animals,

same old, same old,

May take Hera out

for a spot of lunch

if she ever stops talking

to Echo.

Requiem for the Unresolved

Requiem for the Unresolved

You could just take down the stars

one by one, I won’t stop you,

Offer you advice or consolation

to help or if you fail.

You could just lasso the moon

your rope is hope, I won’t tell you

what I think or stand in your way.

You could just forget about me

Oh wait! you did that.

you could help me forget about you.