The Emperor of Kindness

Rasta Man, young,
eyes bridging OneSoul
to you and me,
Rasta Man with pretty wife
and laughing clutching child,
alone on his bicycle,
pedaling silently.
Dark, thin, Rasta Man.

Doves call.
A rooster cracks the air.
Last night
a familiar face returned—
tender, determined, weathered
as a mask left out
to guard the village.
She was not the favorite child;
no one gave her the presents
she needed; she was true to all,
invisible herself. Impossible
not to love her.
In my dream she was happy,
a new job in a lonely territory.
I was proud of her.
I was whole again, relieved
of the pain I caused her.

Walking down this mountain,
the Pacific spreads before you
flattening time; your past
ripples with each footstep
as though it were confined
to the island, as though
you had always been here.

Dozens of bees swerve by,
leaving, returning to
a hollow ironwood.
Wild pigs in the gulch,
hunted on the ridge
with horses and dogs.
Guavas.
Sweet scent of ginger.
Humpback whales migrate
here each winter;
the first was sighted yesterday.

Down by Nanbu Courtyard
a garden spider waits,
bright yellow,
big as a blossom
at the center of its web.
Joe Rodriguez tells me
about Rasta Man:
"You know who he is,
really? He is
the Emperor of Kindness."

(from: On The Road To Dharamsala)
John Moncure Wetterau

Notes

• The On Coffee collaboration exhibited at Addison Wooley Gallery during August can be seen on the events page. The show was a success.
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• Note: one of Victor's pieces was chosen by The Farnsworth Museum in Rockland for their permanent collection.