On Suffering

Ten thousand years ago
resting on ten thousand years of death
a sage contemplated twenty thousand years of life
He looked up to see a crying boy
a tear fell from the boy’s cheek
and landed in his palm

In the center of the tear
a catastrophic fire raged
an exploding star
in the form of a blacksmith
with flaming hair and blazing eyes
was striking violent blows
with gleaming hammer and anvil
new worlds emerged
from the smoke
and fire
On one gasping world
a garden began to grow
under a hail of rocks and ice
life forms unfolded from cosmic dust
growing in seas, covering mountains and filling the air
a magnificent cosmic jewel
resting in the palm of his hand

The sage looked up and the boy was gone
replaced by a vicious battle
clouds of arrows filled the sky
as pincushion bodies covered the ground
a warrior raised a bloody sword
as a drop of blood fell into the sage’s palm

In the center of the crimson drop
was a glowing ember in the form of a goddess
whose womb was burning with cosmic fire
she clutched handfuls of stars like flowers
as she screamed galaxies were torn
from their moorings
then a crying boy
emerged from her womb

Again the sage looked up
and all was gone
nothing left but
an eternity of suffering