True Tales

I thought I’d share my version of the three exercises that Siri Ved Kaur wrote about. It’s always interesting to see what pops up out of these prompts. I highly recommend you try it for yourself or with a group of friends. You don’t have to be “writers,” you just have to put pen to paper and let yourself go.

Toe
for the Master, Yogi Bhajan Ji

I never
massage his feet,
don’t have the
talent,
am not worthy,
so
difficult
to touch them,
foreign and
awkward.
I do dream
of
sitting
under them,
gazing
as a child
at a
map
of
Africa.

********

Solstice Night

In my tent dark shifts a quarter-of-an-inch of canvas away
I tighten the quilt around my chin
I wonder
Are there spiders in the corners?

********

Shawl

Too long, too stiff
Wrong color,
Spent too much,
Didn’t haggle or
Go to the right shop.
He said it was Pashmina –
It’s not.
Shrunk in the laundry,
Stained on the train,
Left behind at a
Tantric course in
San Fran.
Just once
Couldn’t I have one
Like hers?