Poem - Buddha or a Bodhisattva in an AA Meeting

i.

he's a buddha
he is upsetting
he stinks

people recoil
disgusted
even angry

if he isn't a buddha
he's a bodhisattva
dirty and laughing

with a backpack and
a odious blanket

he smiles
and sips coffee

out of the rain
in an AA meeting

ii.

then i remember
the stinking gypsies
in venice

on the vaparetto
angels

and the maniac
meditating on
market street

in SF
mahasiddha

i have been
wrong about it all
my vision

my outlook
my seeking comfort

desire for
pleasantness

iii.

are you
resolved with me
to gain enlightenment

and bend a nail
or be hungry

or even smell
funny




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Canyon Club
Laguna Beach
2.27.14