~ By the Light of a Dying Moon
god and the buddhas
merge onto highway 62
in a bel-air nomad
it’s early
not even 4 a.m.
yet the 18-wheelers
are already rolling
god is
sipping black coffee
from the lid
of a stainless steel thermos
a lit lucky strike
between the fingers
of his left hand
which is also
gripping the wheel
the three buddhas are
sitting in the back
eating maple bars
“turboglide, baby,”
says god with a grin
as they accelerate
“with fuel injection
and solid lifters, i might add,”
“listen to that,”
says god,
“it tells you the universe
is in harmony”
“you ever read
zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance?”
god asks the buddhas
who are sitting,
licking the icing from their fingers
and wadding up the waxed paper
they shake their heads no
“pretty good book,” says god
“nevertheless, a ’57 chevy has
buddha nature,” say the buddhas
“fucking A, buddhas,” says god
“it’s a shame to be up this early
and not be going fishing,”
say the buddhas
“well, i want to look at some rocks,”
says god
soon, however, the buddhas are asleep
“sleepest thou?” god smiles
“couldest not thou watch one for one hour?”
“i’ll wake them later,” god thinks to himself
and he recalls the old man and the sea:
“the boy was asleep on a cot
in the first room
and the old man could see him clearly
with the light that came in
from the dying moon.
he took hold of one foot gently
and held it until the boy woke
and turned and looked at him.
the old man nodded
and the boy took his trousers
from the chair by the bed and,
sitting on the bed, pulled them on.”
“ah, hemingway,” god says to himself
now, well within the ambit
of joshua tree national park
god pulls to the side of the road
near the jumbo rocks
and, in turn, takes hold of one foot
of each of the buddhas, holding it
until each awakes
from his otherworldly slumbers
by the light of a dying moon
through the windshield of a ’57 chevy
they behold the remnants
of a long-eroded mountain range
formed two billion years earlier
on a now non-existent
super-continental landmass
long before the existence of life
and conscious thought
“don’t tell me,” says god,
“they have buddha nature”
“we were thinking more like nirvana,”
say the buddhas
god notices
the wind has ceased to blow
dawn
joshua tree national park
near jumbo rocks
approximate ten minute exposure
zero image 69
pinhole camera
kodak e100vs
color slide film
for kat
www.flickr.com/photos/kateverlasting/
Please take a look at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=88kZIM6zXn0
~ By the Light of a Dying Moon
god and the buddhas
merge onto highway 62
in a bel-air nomad
it’s early
not even 4 a.m.
yet the 18-wheelers
are already rolling
god is
sipping black coffee
from the lid
of a stainless steel thermos
a lit lucky strike
between the fingers
of his left hand
which is also
gripping the wheel
the three buddhas are
sitting in the back
eating maple bars
“turboglide, baby,”
says god with a grin
as they accelerate
“with fuel injection
and solid lifters, i might add,”
“listen to that,”
says god,
“it tells you the universe
is in harmony”
“you ever read
zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance?”
god asks the buddhas
who are sitting,
licking the icing from their fingers
and wadding up the waxed paper
they shake their heads no
“pretty good book,” says god
“nevertheless, a ’57 chevy has
buddha nature,” say the buddhas
“fucking A, buddhas,” says god
“it’s a shame to be up this early
and not be going fishing,”
say the buddhas
“well, i want to look at some rocks,”
says god
soon, however, the buddhas are asleep
“sleepest thou?” god smiles
“couldest not thou watch one for one hour?”
“i’ll wake them later,” god thinks to himself
and he recalls the old man and the sea:
“the boy was asleep on a cot
in the first room
and the old man could see him clearly
with the light that came in
from the dying moon.
he took hold of one foot gently
and held it until the boy woke
and turned and looked at him.
the old man nodded
and the boy took his trousers
from the chair by the bed and,
sitting on the bed, pulled them on.”
“ah, hemingway,” god says to himself
now, well within the ambit
of joshua tree national park
god pulls to the side of the road
near the jumbo rocks
and, in turn, takes hold of one foot
of each of the buddhas, holding it
until each awakes
from his otherworldly slumbers
by the light of a dying moon
through the windshield of a ’57 chevy
they behold the remnants
of a long-eroded mountain range
formed two billion years earlier
on a now non-existent
super-continental landmass
long before the existence of life
and conscious thought
“don’t tell me,” says god,
“they have buddha nature”
“we were thinking more like nirvana,”
say the buddhas
god notices
the wind has ceased to blow
dawn
joshua tree national park
near jumbo rocks
approximate ten minute exposure
zero image 69
pinhole camera
kodak e100vs
color slide film
for kat
www.flickr.com/photos/kateverlasting/
Please take a look at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=88kZIM6zXn0