Sunday February 13
*
A glimpse
forth on the way from the span
to the leading light of my long day
slight gentle beautiful determined bright one
patiently making her way
she firmly alone firmly herself
to quietly remind me
that not so far away
for she I we two
our warm and bright future day
And to her then to say to tell
of the descent to village of
Pandzara
upon the way to Jol
Thence toward Mekong Dza chu
upon span of concrete
stark above the roiling water
to climb above
for every footstep forward
a footstep toward the sky
we rise
To gaze into the valley
where Miyam chu flows
we descend to its banks
in it's shimmering pools we see
reflected up at us
the trunks of wondrous trees
and needles float here and there
amid the swirling currents
for a forest there is here
To the far side
we make our way
upon the sparkling rush
over gravel and shining stone
to where brightly glow
here and there
flowers of many hues
lavender red and white
rhododendrons and azaleas
in blooming profusion
in dark green
flickering light
Look beautiful one
there up ahead
among the trees
sparkling in the forest's depths
it's the glacier
the one that rises
to the very heights
of great Kawa Karpo
beneath it's massive
majestic icy steely majesty
humbly there rests
small temple
Go me Gonpa
is its name
There within it's shadows
images of wonder
a figure in robes
of light green holds a lily white
its Manjughosa bodhisattva
whose serene compassionate gaze
we know
Yeshe Tsogyel Padmasambhava
stand here too
Then another figure
that we know stands not far
from the Bodhi tree
its Jowo Shakyamuni
he who became the Buddha
and Tara Dolma
swift protectoress
looks out at us
she who once snorted at monks suggestion
that with her aptitude
she'd get quite far
in no time as a man
and should pray for such a state
she resolved to incarnate
in female form forever
until she rose
beyond the reach of pain
Avalokiteshvara Aksobya
Vajradhara Vajrapani
their images here are too
to our ears comes the sound
of a mani prayer wheel turning
in the mountain light
that shines between the columns
in the portico just beyond
as on the wall
calendrical charts
mutely mark the passing
of infinite celestial time
within their inscribed lines
All this not so wonderful
to my straining eyes
as your determined beauty
and swift uplifted grace
that endures with patient dignity
this that I see in you
beneath the open sky
on this morn
of our winter of working and waiting
Lotus blossoms rest
upon the window sill
and so we wait
two as one
we our effort
real and lasting
slight gentle
beautiful one
February 8
* courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions.
reference material for the poem is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje.