Gautama

Miranda Morley

the steam seeped

through the

rice patties and the roots

of the Bhodi tree

where I ran like wind while

my mother’s birthblood fed the earth

and it whispered:

Siddhartha, Siddhartha

I had no sandals

to remove

should you have told me

this (Bhodi Tree)

was

holy

ground

or holy branch or holy bark or holy root sucking the

marrow of life

yet no

bush-burst

into brilliance

for me

though I let my butter feet burn brown

ate nothing but the swirling maggots that festered on the once-new bread

I (ascetic)

did not deserve

all life is suffering!

but i sought You

the way a woman we both know

sought her lost coins

perhaps when you looked my way I was

looking in another direction

maybe

down

not up

maybe

jhana, jhana

---

Miranda Morley is a recent graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University with bachelor's degrees in English, Political Science, and International Relations, now pursuing a Master's degree in English from Purdue University. She works as a freelance writer and private teacher in Northwest Indiana and Chicago. In her spare time she enjoys travel, participating in cultural events and festivals, volunteering, and spending time with her husband and infant daughter.

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