I spotted a fortune teller at an old county fair
while knowing the answers I still looked for some there.
There was no love line or fate line she could’ve read,
I told her I bet there’s no sun line, life line or trace of a head.
She met my eyes with sadness written all over her face,
and told me out of all people that I was her worst case.
She traced the inside of my hand intently trying to see
then she asked me had I recently been burned severely.

In my death bed I’ve been waiting patiently for sleep
sadly I’m not the one it wishes to greet.
With past scars and present fresh wounds tunnelling down so deep,
loss of blood and mind so I’m left as just a sack of meat.

A loving caress to each feature
but succeed in only poking the bone,
and every single living creature
dies completely alone.
She was a rainbow and I; charcoal grey,
they all choose to go but claim they wish to stay.

The beeping bouncing off the wall
steady like sirens or alarms,
and at the end of it all
we all die in our own arms.
She was a rainbow and I; charcoal grey,
I still catch her glow but it’s fading away,
I know it could never last, but I still have to pray,
‘cause I am the past and she’s only in today.

I’ve acted strong and kept up this ruse,
atleast I can say I’ve always been brave,
but when I’m not digging up the past, ghosts or clues,
I’ve steadily been digging my own grave.

No lines, no ties, not a single strand.
I’ve got the palmist right in the palm of my hand.

The soles of my sandaled feet
maneuver lumps of brick as if by rote
and I am compelled to face the square.

Almost noon on Sunday,
I seek the impromptu mall
of Tarot readers and caricaturists
where palmists merchant to St. Peter,
each an homilist to the choir of steel drums
tinkling near the alley.
Alternate drummers motion bills and coins
into the walled cache of a tattered suitcase.

Tall arched doors spill into
the welcoming flicker and scent of melting wax
as an older woman enters,
the heft of her rosary bending her
near genuflection.

Familiar passages resonate;
memories lead to Sacraments.
Questions filter through me like confessions,
and I note what lingers of my faith.

Still.

I feel too guilty for Communion.

Bless me Father, for I have sinned.
Even as I turn to You,
my right toe numbs
and my ear begins to itch.
My ******* constrict
and my throat presses into the wet.
Inject me, Father, with Noah's syringe –
the one that jazzed him
to build that floating zoo –
that I may track my path before the Rise.
Or, let me don Your priestly robes,
and turn some wine to Corpuscles
divined to see beyond my own plank
or preach the Beatitudes to yawning zealots.

Is there a mirror on that altar?

As the cathedral entrance closes,
I am who I am
—and I am not worthy—
standing my shadow's length
from the shallow steps.

Azaleas blooming at my back,
I remember when religion grew within my mind
fed weekly by carvings on a chalice
in a chapel on Esplanade left to nature post Katrina.

Spanish moss greys the white beard of God
where the dome of the fresco fractures.

Phalangeal hues of sun
eclipse the floating dust
from breaks in stained glass stations.

Masses of blackberry and kudzu
drape a pregnant mass
over the sculpted marble of the cross.

The chiseled palms of Christ extend as
ropes of growth unravel from His Torso

like a figment of my reconciliation.

Vines fall to form a brambled crown
atop a broken stone
between the great doors
where the Bible swells open.

A version of this poem has been previously published in the anthology Louisiana Inklings: A Literary Sampler (29 October 2013).

*"Sanctuary" was featured as Poem of the Day and  added to the Poetry Club on Scriggler.com

We human beings are seeking Enlightenment

But we live and die in the dark

The myth makes us scared of a lizard

Instead of fearing the shark



It's sad that we are taught lies

And our mind is full of junk

It's time for the Intellect to make the monkey mind

Into a silent, tamed monk



But how do we doubt our parents and teachers...

Who taught us all that we know?

How can we believe that this world is not real...

It's just a cosmic show



For years we have followed our religion

And believed in what scriptures tell

Suddenly to change our belief is tough

That there is no heaven and hell



What is the Truth, what is the myth...

How will we get to know?

Until we ask questions and investigate

Through Life, we will just flow



We are taught to chase money and success

And that the Goal of Life is Achievement

We live and die without realizing

That the Goal of Life is Enlightenment



Throughout Life we chase pleasures

And to become happy, we try to be

We never realize the Truth that happiness

Is within and then from misery we are free



Money can buy medicines and a bed

And it can buy a diamond ring

But money cannot give us health and sleep

True Love it cannot bring



So, throughout Life we believe in the myth

We never learn the Truth

We live and die with ignorance

Not getting to the bottom of the root



We try to be Happy in a tomorrow

A tomorrow that is not yet born

And we live with the miseries of yesterday

A past that is forever gone



We believe in astrologers and palmists

And like fools show them the lines on our hand

We don't realize that everything is controlled

By a Supreme Power beyond our land



We live and die with ignorance

Thinking we are the body, ego and mind

But the Truth is that we are the Divine Soul

This Realization, when will we find?



We come with nothing, we will go with nothing..

This Truth, don't you know?

Enlightenment will open your 'real' eyes

To realize everything is just a show





Then, the myth makes us celebrate our birthday

With balloons, candles and a cake

The Truth, we were conceived nine months prior

To this Truth, when will we awake?



We think God lives in a distant heaven

He is made of blood, bone and skin

That is a myth, the Truth is this

God is the Power within



Doesn't each human being on earth say with pride...

'I am Roger, Steve or John'?

These are just names, when will we realize

One day, this body will be gone!



Some of us believe in the Law of Action

Everything is controlled by our deed

Do we believe in the myth...

That we can get mangoes with an apple seed?



Then, why do we believe the Law of Attraction...

That we can manifest all we Dream?

When will we realize, not attraction, but action...

A Team and Scheme will fulfil our Dream



We believe the myth that our mind is king

And we trust it can do anything

When will we realize it is the biggest enemy...

That throughout life does misery bring!



Isn't it true that we will die?

Death is certain for all who are born

Some of us believe we are this body

But at death, we depart, we are gone?





Then, we believe that after death

To a distant heaven we will go

We ourselves destroy the body of our loved one

Then to God, who will go?



We haven't understood death, have we?

The myth of death makes us live with fear

The loss of all that we own and the beyond, unknown

Makes us shiver, year after year



Why do bad things happen to good people?

This question our ignorance does ask

Bad things can't happen to good people

Everything is happening as per our task



Then, we blame God as being cruel

And say that He is unjust, unkind

This is sheer ignorance my friend

It is a trick of our monkey mind



It believes that good deeds will take us to heaven

But think, who will go there?

The body at death has become dust

And the one who died, is where?



Of course, we have to pay for our actions

For every good deed and sin

When we realize the Truth of Rebirth

Then, this battle of Life we win!



But we just live with ignorance

Thinking bad thoughts will control our

Life It is not bad thoughts, but actions

That we do to our friends or our wife





And so, we pray to our Heavenly Father To

forgive us for our bad deeds

When will we realize the law he made?

Everything grows as the planted seeds



The Truth is simple, it can be learnt

If we transcend the ego and mind

But first we must discard the fairy tales we learnt

Then Enlightenment we will find



For years we are taught this story

That God lives in a temple or church

We live and die with the ignorance

But for God we never search



We think God is a statue or picture

Who has a name and a form

We don't realize that God is the Supreme Power

He is immortal, He never dies, nor is ever born



But because we are taught with prayer

To God we can go

We continue to fold our hands at pilgrimages

Through life we flow, we don't grow



Is there a way to find God?

This Truth we never find

We just live as slaves of our ego

And our rascal monkey mind



Because we just believe everything

We are taught and we are told

To the myth and the superstitions of this world

And to the rituals we are sold



Religion is good, it teaches us basics

But it's just a kindergarten, it's where we start

If we want to realize God

We need Spirituality that will take us to the last



Spirituality is the way to realize God

To realize the Power in our heart

To realize we are ourselves that Supreme Power

And with the Power we will unite, when we depart



But as long as we believe that our ancestors are alive

In some heaven far away from earth

We will not realize the mind and ego

Will return to earth in a rebirth



Why do we believe in the fairy tales?

Stories that preach suffering of the Soul

To realize that the Soul is the Supreme Power

Is our life's ultimate Goal



But we are taught about good Souls and bad Souls

We don't realize we are all one

Our bodies and mind are different

But our Soul is the Power of the sun



There is one Power that controls everything

The Supreme Immortal Power

But until we overcome our ignorance

The Truth we will not discover



Have you ever stopped to realize...

What is the purpose of life?

When you do, you will be free from all misery

And the triple suffering that causes you strife



The past is gone, you can't change it

But you can change Life from now

Go in quest and realize the Truth

Today, take this solemn vow



Let go of the fairy tales, the myth and the lies

And realize the Truth of this show

We are just actors, this earth is a stage

We just come and we must go



Before we go, let us overcome the myth

Let us transcend the ego and mind

Then, we will attain our ultimate Goal

Within, our GOD we will find



And if we don't realize the Truth, then what?

One day we will die on earth

Then we will return again and again

As we suffer in a Rebirth



Those who realize the Truth of Life

That they are not the ego, body and mind

They are free from all misery

Everlasting Bliss and Peace they find