The cave at Tiger’s Nest once birthed a Llama
guarded now by fortress stone, jagged cliffs
and scores of chanting monks.
We climb the rain slick path,
rutted and rough hewn,
until the last flight of flagged steps
pass beneath a spindrift waterfall
then rise into the blast of horn,
murmured prayers and butter lamp smoke.
Mother and Father Buddha center one chapel
flanked by pairs of tantric lovers
and outside, younger monks,
heads shaved and robed, play
with the aggressive joy of any boys.
Leaving, we head down the slope of slippery clay
to an old toothless woman, barefoot,
who laughs at her captured image
then continues her vertical climb.
As rain and fog decrease
the monastery emerges high above,
speaking through clouds of what endures,
spoken in the sound of prayer,
the pilgrim journey in high places
and amidst the city noise
in the bustle of black smoke,
the day to day life we live
beneath the brow remote and fierce
of Tiger’s Nest.
The immediacy of the words painted a picture the growing realization, oh! You were there! Good travels!
Don….I felt like I was actually there…that is a sign of a great poet!(smile)
It all brings back the time, Chris, a friend and I were in Buhtan 12 years ago. I hope this has been an invigorating experience for you.
If I told you what phrases I liked best I would be rewriting the whole poem! Vivid sense of being there. thank you!
It feels exactly and so beautifully like your entire experience……This is a masterful poem, Don. I absolutely love it. The picture of you and the toothless woman is a treasure. Thank you……so heartfelt.
Thanks for sharing your Journey, Brother.
Lovely description of a place I never thought I knew.
Till reading this.
Your words rekindle evocative images, scents, memories of Nepal and India, and the realization sensed behind them. Thank you, Don.
This really captures the feel and spirit of a trip of a lifetime. Thanks, Don
How remarkable…the poem and…the fact that you were there…I have heard about this place and even dreamt about it…
Sounds like a great trip! I just returned from a week in Vail and while there we visited the ranch seeing old friends. Your poem brings our visit to mind… All the best brother.
Wow! Your words are so poignant, I feel like I have been on the journey with you. Thanks for sharing it with all of us.
Your picture and poetry are proof that there is no separation where there is true humanity.