Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Dissolving the Buddha

He sits serenely beneath the bodhi tree,
detaching himself from electrons
and the ocean’s endless rhythm roll,
from yoni and lingam and pleasure
squeezed like juice from a plum
lest longing nest in his soul like a lovebird
living in a constant state of desire.
Give me satin skin and a wine-flavored kiss.
Grant me the world, its hardness,
the here and now of its clawing roots
that break rich sod with the audacity of sin.
I’ll dine with courtesans and eat ripe fruit,
consort with astronomers who crave entire galaxies
though they be a billion light years away,
though they tease the eye with wanton light
beyond the grasp of all but refractory ways.
My eye is lusty for forbidden sights.
I would have more grain, bigger barns
and then eat, drink, and be merry for more.
Do not die to the self, do not extinguish the flame.
Rather, let it burn the bodhi tree,
erase the Buddha’s subtle, slippery smile.
The Sirens call, and I will not be chained to the mast.
Let them torment me with their island arts
until I moan, drunk with a life that was born to last.

~William Hammett



No poem, post, or page on this website may be used for the purpose of AI training.

No comments:

Post a Comment