Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Buddha Hand




A hand with fingers tapering and slender
shapes a mudra graceful, strange and cryptic
puzzling both the tourist and the mystic—
"think I've seen it somewhere, can't remember—"
on a statue, seated at the center
of some monastery's Buddha triptych
or the produce section, where the citric
fruits achieve satori in surrender?

Semblance of the hand that holds the Zen door!
Call it spurious, you carping critic
pride yourself on being the hardened skeptic:
I am charmed by vegetative splendor,
static dance of hand- and finger-gestures
made by fruit, evocative of... zest.

--for Read Write Poem. I'm probably going to hell for this.

Collection available! Knocking from Inside

4 comments:

Erin Davis said...

What fun! I don't think I've ever thought it possible to be "charmed by vegetative splendor" until I read this poem.

PS-I'm pretty sure I don't get a vote, but I don't think this poem should be your ticket to hell. :0)

Anonymous said...

This is just wonderful. I love the sound of this, especially, "citric fruits achieve satori in surrender."

Anonymous said...

The Buddha is smiling, he found great joy in nature. Good poem.

Raven's Wing Poetry said...

Au contraire, I'd consider this poem your ticket to Heaven. Very descriptive and lovely.

The Nobleman