is

i bow down to that soft voice of correctness
that whispers the perfect thought
ceaselessly
om namo guru manjughosaya

for starters
there is NOW
catch it if you can

you won't ever
but that's nearly the whole point
of the exercise

for NOW presents two equally matched
challengers
they have many names
they are called agitation
and dullness
they are called ultimate
and deceptive
they are called desire
and malevolence
they are called staying
and going
they are called Tree of Life
and Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

but in their perfect
juxtaposition
is a garden of clear light
it is a paradise
a canopy stuffed
with every imaginable
delight

and all one has to do to find it
is look for it
and true to the paradox of any object
called wisdom
that ever was actually wisdom
failure to discover it
is the proof of its
discovery

herein is youth
and beauty
herein is immortality
and health
herein is the miraculous power
of every sage and master
that was or could ever
be

and if you're lucky
if you're so much more fortunate
than any zillion dollar lottery winner
ever dreamed
you might discover
shangri-la
utopia
nowhere
in the expedition
to conquer
NOW

and if you're not so fortunate
then it might sound like
all this opposite talk
is just fortune-cookie
riddles

what do you hear
what do you smell
what do you taste
and breathe
what do you feel
right NOW

and moreover
who is this that is hearing
who is this that is smelling
who is this that is tasting
and breathing
and feeling
right NOW

and if you say ME

you are correct

but then tell me

who is this ME

and just to be in this space
in the examination
of the lie

is so far beyond all the wealth
that any numeral
could quantify

and here we must be gentle
here we must talk
in whispers
in gestures

for we step soft
in the prints
of God

for it's not something
and it's not nothing

it's I AM

or perhaps, better
AM

limitless
available
effortless
bliss

but what about bills
what about heart breaks
what about pain
and ecstacy
what about injustices
and windfalls

and then it's gone
lost

do but stay a while
in AM
BE

even to write it
or speak of it
destroys it

but to rest in it

is divine

just to rest in the meaning
of these two english letters
IS
forget the rest
just
IS

and if the thought arises
as it must
what is IS

stay