I have been the Buddha
heavy-lidded, bald
refusing the world
access to me

I have been the Buddha
leaning against the tree
of wisdom and duty
and all-surrounding beauty

I have been the Buddha
rejecting the body of me
rejecting the body of you
nearing the body of all

I have been the Buddha
re-entering where I left
tumbling around in a clothes-dryer
ridding myself of samsaric moisture

I have been the Buddha
bereft of kith and kin and kind
soaking my toes
in the enjoyment of nothing



Bonaventure Saptel