December 9, 2021Poem

Buddhas always look serene

naturetimeidentitymortality

Buddhas always look serene

Although the fat ones can look

Self-satisfied

The one on the wall

Sheltered from the weather

Beneath the patio roof

Seems content

He has never complained

Not even when an old crow

Sat atop the wooden frame

Proclaiming his emancipation

From the chorus line

He demanded to be heard

Listened to on his own terms

Cawed a few lines from

Mary Poppins

Expecting to be paid for his trouble

Even if it was only peanuts

The sun never shines

On the Buddha's face

Not directly but he looks on in reflection

With an enigmatic smile

Of which Davinci would be proud

The old crow does a dance

Fancies himself as Dick Van Dyke

Perhaps it was another Disney movie

The world is full of them

A helicopter rattles over

A windswept sky

The glint in the eye

Of old Buddha tells a story

He has passed a message

To Leonardo

About helicopters and vitruvian men

Sky-diving from biplanes

Perhaps there is life and connection

In all things

If only we could find

Space in our own world view

To make good sense of it all.