Chua Bo An
Ron Yazinski
Through the orange groves, we pedal,
Past the garden where the peacocks cry because their beauty
Is such a burden;
My surgically repaired knees click,
As we puff beneath the oaks and Spanish moss
Whose shadows look like the age spots on my arms,
On towards the Buddhist Temple in Clarcona,
Where we break near the large statue of Guanyin, the goddess of mercy,
Who welcomes us with open arms.
She is the bodhisattva who hears all lamentations,
Who will wrap us each in lotus leaves to bring us home to rest;
We drink a toast from our water bottles and catch our breath
And smile at the other statue of tubby saint Ho-Tai.
He sits at the temple’s entrance,
With his hands over his belly and a smile on his face,
Teasing us to rub his tummy for luck;
He’s the Buddha who’s only exercise is kindness,
Which my doctor assures me isn’t enough.
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Ron Yazinski © 2017
Ron Yazinski is a retired English teacher from Northeastern Pennsylvania, who, with his wife Jeanne, now lives in Winter Garden, Florida.
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- Read this and the other 60+ poems in 'The Best of Kindness 2017' available on Amazon or from the CreateSpace e-store: https://www.createspace.com/7018282