Mahakala: A Summum Bonum

Almost all

 

 

 

 

The academic tradition has had its rich rewards,

Not the least of which is a methodical mindset,

But I was not prepared for what was to happen,

That day, in July of that year, when he bade me speak,

In a loud voice, clear and coherent on the issues.

Figuring I was going irretrievably mad, I hesitated,

That's when something broke all my resistance,

And I was left like a lamb in the care of the rod.

 

He had suddenly burst on my meditative reverie,

And persuaded me that we can talk to him now,

Suggesting perhaps, that he was now listening,

And so I did but he had suddenly burst into song.

He sang of the end of dementia, of people I faintly knew,

Of the sisters of Cryona, Discodever, Debedes Knone,

It was a little loud and frankly, the neighbors were talking,

But he pulled me to the pillars of Hercules and then I saw.

 

It was back in '85 when I first met the passionate one,

He was the Lover, the hero and God incarnate in Indian lore,

We had named him affectionately as Siva, the great one.

He was engulfed in flames, his speech a failing stammer.

We were standing near the pillars and he said I had done good,

As I recalled, I had picked one, they both looked the same,

And then did we commence a journey that continues haltingly,

'To find the world,' he had said, 'you must lose the bonds that bind.'

 

It was a slow journey, through the adorably fashionable '80s,

Then the slow, tricky, Orwellian sense of the anything goes, 90s.

And then as the new millennium turned the corner, he disappeared,

Or rather, in a proper protocol, he had become illusive Maya.

I met with the great family of the universe under the rule of Indra.

Real decent sort of fella, must have sensed my wayward anxiety,

He put me to rest real quick but not before I had met the rest,

The croc from the Nile, flying lizards and the suave magician, Ayah.

 

There was a quarrel about the sons of Arya, Herakles' name was touted,

All these in front of the academic in me and no proper documentation!

Not long after it began, the wife left, taking the can-opener with her.

Can't say I blamed her, the academic life had made me uncertain,

But what I thought I encountered was something more, it was alive,

Siva warned me about not losing my marbles and helped where possible,

They tightened the hatches, chained the doubtful and befriended Draco,

A guide shook his head politely.....'its the dragon,' he said with rueful eyes.

 

 

I had the hardest time not saying anything to anybody about it,

I was, at that time, teaching English part-time after retirement.

The hardest part was not to speak to the trees, streams and road signs.

Gosh, but they were so polite....that crab on the beach, knew my name.

But standing by the roadside in my Einsteinian hair, talking to trees,

That would be in the words of the mad hatter at tea, ' ridiculous.'

Okay, it did slow down and I could find an expression for it,

That wasn't in some way, esoteric, sublime or divinely inspired.

 

In retrospect, I think it was my training as an economist,

We learnt to make assumptions, the Latin calls, ' ceteris paribus.'

Then I think I learnt organization while teaching the subject.

It helped. Then someone suggested that mental illness was over-rated.

I had to agree, I am of course perfectly normal as far as I know.

After almost 36 years, I realized, it wasn't that hard, its me.

Living in Los Angeles, to the sounds of sirens, that was hard!

We can do most things, even new, because we live here. We belong.

 

In retrospect I had got what I had always wished for....to know.

I'm told it comes to those who are prepared. I didn't realize I was.

The embarrassment of it all was to come to know that a child knows,

That women and lay priests go through these as part of their lives.

I remember getting the runaround because that's the way it is.

I used to ask the proverbial, ' doesn't anybody know for sure?'

I found out why that is so. You'll have to find the right expression,

And on the way, turn a quaint fairy tale into a dream realized.

Reviews

[Cole Hayley]

It's been a while but I am so happy this is the poem I returned to. What an opus my friend.

[MOON]

Beautifully expressed , I loved the last stanza brought it all together.

[patricia]

all these in front of the academic in me and no proper documentation! ...made me laugh...as did the wife taking the tin opener.
sounds like quite some journey going on here, and for what i can grasp from it you are reviewing the notes.and kindly sharing your findings.
I absolutely loved the stanza that required your restraint with trees, streams and roadsigns, and crabs that knew your name. Brilliant. thanks.