Surely if I learned the intricacies of biophysics,
making proteins dance inside a vast sea of transistors,
I can learn the Buddhadharma.

Surely if I transformed the silent beat of a conductor’s baton
into the audible, angular rhythms of the Rite of Spring,
I can transform my mind.

Surely if I found a barely marked campsite
in the surreal, monochrome landscape of the moonlit desert,
I can follow the way.

After all, isn’t enlightenment
another subject to learn?
a transformation to perform?
a long and winding path to follow to the end?

Surely if I sit sipping my fragrant mug of coffee,
feeling its warmth in my hands on a chill winter morning,
I am already there.

–EE Thompson © 2024

The orange flowers were right out the front door. Beautiful photography doesn’t require anything special either. Only looking around.