Blind stomp

Varmints, flying feathers and hollow bones

Unimportant and uncomprehending

Care for nothing but sleep and survival

Petty creatures, of inconsequential beauty

My tool as foretold would be fire, stand down

All elements shall wither to the flame by my hand

Trees were made to satiate my hunger

Animals were born to satisfy my sport

The lands were meant to nurture my babes

Flowing water to fill each cell of me

Whats your purpose, ye useless beings

Crawl away, slide away, lest you may be seen

Acquiesce to the image of god before thee

You'd burn if you don't, though you'd burn if you do

The woods know not of the fire of rage. 

Else they would strike a bough to your end

The birds' soft hearts innocent of vengeance

Else the flap of wings would have rendered you blind

The neglect of the mundane would be the death of man

Too gross for wonder, deaf to sweet chirp

Incapable of admiring the sensuality of dunes

The fragile strength of water

The cluckle of a lizard like a disapproving aunt

They tease you, mock you in their loud quietness

The hourglass empties, sand fills your nostrils

Reminding you of impending doom

The bubble of superiority has now burst

At your end you'd know, you are truly alone

Cold stone walls hug the aged temple door
Granular cruelty grinds against the soles
An unheeded step could bruise the toughest toes
The curling of them on the hint of dampness unknown

The sharpness of camphor always hangs low
Admixed with basil and jasmine and curious dung

Chanting relentless, syllables unheard
The rituals seem foreign, the decked idol forbidding
The dab of cold sandal feels absurd

Red rice clustered along palmar crease 

Ignorant of when to toss it, the hows, whys and whats,

Toss it right, toss it with reverence

Too many rules, not a moment of ease.

To hell with all the mind boggling, mindless motions
The glare of the priest at an unintended movement
The intimidation of complexity coaxes my feet to a corner
Lotus down, relieved at the distance from the altar

A breath eases out, I close my eyes in solemn
Chanting flows in, numbing the chimp within
The air is dense, the odor pleasantly heady,

The tranquilizing chime of bells quietens all chatter

The moments so pass, it matters not in number
The hand on my shoulder breaks my non-slumber
This is how it feels to smile without reason
A reason, however, to retrace steps that treaded prior in reluctance
So the stone walls beckon again but now not to the altar
The stone walls that contain that which cannot be pinned
The corner is now my corner, if not that, then some other
I step out without flowers, without sandal, neither red nor rice
I step out only with a skip, a full heart and a ready smile

Rain shards slap down ruthlessly at will
Concealing the tears that flow down skin bare
Lightening may strike down sudden upon my head
But the pain would be a caress in compare

Stuck in the whirlwind of words, listless and lost
The bustle of the world surely pales in time
We distract ourselves so desperately so
From the questions that we really need to know
If we sat and observed, in truth, you'd see
We've nothing to show for, nothing but an emotional sea

Don't be mistaken, the tears aren't just sad
Don't be naive, the pain isn't just my own
There is but one difference, you and me
I've thought and pondered and sulked a while
Whilst you rot blissful in the castle of your own

Don't you see you've accomplished zilch?
Look again, your trophies are but rust
Oh but then, there were just phantoms on withering wood
Mere shiny cups and plates, if you must

Delusions and hallucinations decorate your world
Fables and misconceptions entertain you so
Even if you rouse, your time has passed
The waves have rolled, your breath has halt.