An evocative poem that’s more like a prayer to Lord Shiva, by Bruce, for Different Truths.

The climb is more than is imagined
Higher than the Sherpas dare to go
They say goodbye with friendly curiosity:
    
          “Is life not hard enough?”
          “Why why would you climb to Shiva’s feet?”
          “There’s nothing there.”
          “It’s just more dirt.”

The air is clear
Alone for this brief moment
Free at last
Above the tree line
Storm clouds fall away reveal
Earth’s horizon curve
Across a continent of jagged edges.

One can find no higher ground than this
On earth
Above the vast suburban sprawl
I do aspire to waken
From the dream of flesh and blood
No longer called upon to walk
Amidst the carnival of living
Shiva dancing on the streets
As long as life . . . and death
To summit
Into peace that passes understanding.

Shanti
Take me home
Forever.

©Bruce Louis Dodson

Photos from the internet.

Bruce Louis Dodson

Bruce Louis Dodson is an American expat living in Borlänge, Sweden, where he writes fiction and poetry. Some of his most recent work has appeared in: Foreign & Far Away – Writers Abroad Anthology, Sleeping Cat Books – Trip of a Lifetime Anthology, Northern Liberties Review, Pirene’s Fountain, Tic Toc, and Storm Cycle Anthologies - Kind of a Hurricane Press, Vine Leaves, and Cordite Poetry Review.

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