The lotus, like a kaleidoscope,
unfolds through individual eyes.
One doesn’t inherit grace,
nor the wisdom of the old:
our addiction to fame and wealth
devours with rapacious hunger.
If you were to stretch to the sky
beneath a grove of pear trees,
or bend to touch the dark earth
in a field of ripe melons—
then you’d be suspect—
and obviously a thief.
We are given nothing,
and that is enough.
There is no more to give:
No trinket to distract
the sharp-eyed magpie
from the moment’s gleam.
(April 27, 2022)
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