ghazal

"after"


After the stories have all been told   what is there then?
after the objects have all been sold   what is there then?

after the avenues have been strolled   what is there then?
after the embers have all turned cold   what is there then?

the time of youth is a season of search   and imagining!
after the children have all grown old   what is there then?

you're slated (let's say) to visit a friend   at end of a voyage
after the compass has lost its hold   what is there then?

to live in the world isn't so clear-cut   it requires courage
after the inmate has been paroled   what is there then?

sensing great doings that baffle the tongue   silence thickens
after sunyata has been extolled   what is there then?

he desired the gift of making each object   highly precious
after mere touch renders all things gold   what is there then?

the bread is a product of yeast   & time   & internal change
after it surface exhibits mold   what is there then?

some friendships deepen   some friendships prove unreasonably fragile
after the quarrel   after the scold   what is there then?

when he sold me a camera   O what amazing skills of deception!
after the internet page has been scrolled   what is there then?

ten pins stand proud   at the end of a palpably lengthy lane
after the bullseye ball has been rolled   what is there then?

each day is a stage of my search   don't hide too wonderfully!
after the beloved's trail runs cold   what is there then?

the Messiah is placed in a cave   and three days pass
after the stone is removed   behold!   what is there then?

abiding a while with Raphael   I studied his poems
after the tidal wave has unrolled   what is there then?



sunyata (Skt.): literally, "emptiness" -- perhaps the most fundamental concept or principle in Mahayana Buddhism