Kallima Hamilton

UNENCUMBERED BY DESIRE, I RISE
Bodhisattva in the avocado grove,sunlight snakesbetween the dark glossed leaves.Here, in dappled shadows,we are giving up the world.Dropping the heavy pack of entanglements,we experience the weightlesspleasure of drawing back.Knowing this:when I own nothing,I possess the vastness of everything:close to moon & pine & water.Suddenly mind clears,whole nebulae explode as we watchthese purple chrysanthemums of fireworksdeclaring our four freedoms.Luminous eyes of the enlightenedbespeak unchanging happiness—when I gave up my green-eyed lover,little trees offered up their lips;abandoning jewels: now dew beadsdiamond my bare feet,spiders grant me silk of magenta, gold.Leaving off surfeit & glut,I’ve grown sleek and ready for hiking,a wild gazelle. Embracing emptiness,I live in unfathomable luxury,a subtle ecstasy of naked sky,my bones breaking toward Nirvana.

Kallima Hamilton has worked as assistant librarian and ESL instructor. Her poetry has appeared in Mudlark, Sugar Mule and Shenandoah.