Poem Twenty Eight: Milk

Milk

(after the day statues of the Hindu god Ganesh drank milk, September 21, 1995)

*

Bearing a basket of marigolds,

bearing a vessel of milk.

In temples, houses, village huts

the gods drink milk.

Milk in earthen jugs.

Milk in steel pots, spoons, and cups.

Milk on the lips of statues.

Milk ringing the temple bell.

The mind ceases to function.

Vermillion smears across bark.

Paint eyes on silver trees.

Milk sings in the roots.

Holy men are coming out of the mountains.

Miracles are happening everywhere.

Watch how the milk disappears,

pulled into stone

If you think of milk

as consciousness—

stone statues have teeth.

They have mouths for song.

Offer a leaf, a flower, a fruit,

bathe it in milk before you begin.

Let the snake dance,

let the milk thread his coils.

Let the trumpet

of the elephant sing.

The tide of milk went out

as unexpectedly

as it came in.

*