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)