‘Whatever has the nature of arising has the nature of ceasing’
From the ‘Kimsuka Sutta’ of Gautama Buddha 500 B.C approx.
*
glimpses of the Irrawaddy river peek through
the palm trees, the foliage,
the light on water a magnet
for heroic notions of grace and truth
men and women crouch in the paddies,
their flattish, conical bamboo hats swaying like sampans,
the timeless repose of centuries,
the ceaseless clamour and swaddling of new-born,
the ceaseless tryst of mourning and death
enraptured,
the sultry weight of night, now upon me,
does not grip my heart –
I find solace in the silvery, translucent glow of Bodhigon
what prevails is the desire
to embrace, to melt,
to unfurl words of satin and brocade,
to wear necklaces of dew
ancient river, flow through me, let
your iridescence garnish me with pearls,
reveal your prescient song
and vibration of mercy
*
Mandalay, Myanmar 2016