Sunday June 26
*
A glimpse
forth to the heights beyond 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 our climb to the second floor
of the Serkhang Nyingba
To hear the sound
of a hoof
irritably pawing upon the planks
before our eyes a mule
upon it's back one
with visage fierce and terrible
in a flash we see
the battlefields of millennia
with all the carnage
suffering and upheaval
they brought to beings
and yet our minds
are strangely calm
as they fade to be replaced
by a lake below rocky heights
prayer flags flying above
a humble cairn of stone
flashing in the wind
For it is protectoress Shridevi
Gyelmo Makzorma
Palden Lhamo
that we know
who stands before us
the guardian of Lhamo Lhatso
and of all those
powers and principalities
that follow the Buddha's way
she fierce to overcome
the dark confusion
of the mind
that grim warfare brings
We rest in serenity
beneath her fierce
yet benign gaze
as her sacred mantra
permeates our minds
and surrounds us with protection
To look upon the stupa
of Litang Kyabgon
the Tulku Palden Dorje
he who bears her name
within his own
who subdued his mind
before the sight
of shattered ruins
and visions of those who died
to look beyond
to the sacred power of this place
He to say
to Shodruk Tulku
this is but temporary
the acts of those
who in ignorance
struggle in the throes
of the poisons of the mind
Let us then rebuild
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 afternoon
of our summer of working
and waiting
and weaving
Lotus blossoms rest
upon the window sill
and so we wait
two as one
we our effort
real and lasting
slight gentle
beautiful one
June 24
* courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions.
reference material for the poem is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje.