By Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes

The Gods Find Me

If I had a rupee
for every manifestation of the Divine
that has crossed my path
I’d be wearing
the gold embroidered silk
of a wealthy landowner
rather than the cotton thread
of a Brahmin/poet
an untouchable station of life
in a society
squeezing a “few drops of honey” from a thirsty globe
enslaved by suffering

Have faith
you don’t have to believe
the gods will find you

A month after
Buddha
raised his head from the side of road
Ganesha
washed out of ocean
onto
Torrey Pines State Beach

The Hindu deva of dawn
patron of arts
cast out upon sand

Maybe it was my lowly station in life
that wouldn’t allow me to abandon
the remover of obstacles
to rising tide

I immersed the four-armed Deity
in bottled water
placed the long snouted avatar
in the trunk of my blue Toyota Echo
drove him home

Liberation from the bondage of surf
was a few flights of stairs
from the trunkless Siddhartha
meditating a tree on balcony

I left the two spiritual beings
to break the causal chains of bondage:

A cosmic duel
between knowing and noselessness
on a table
submerged in sunlight’s lotus

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Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes

Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes was born and raised in San Diego, California. He attended Herbert Hoover High School and went on to study Religion and Theology at the University of San Diego. His book Intimate Geography, published by Ragged Sky Press, won the 2012 San Diego Book Award for Poetry. Ish, as he is known, has also written lyrics for German musicians Andrea Hörkens and Thomas Roderburg (Tender Art).

Latest posts by Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes (see all)

• Word’s Out | Geo-Poetic Spaces - December 14, 2018
• Political Love Affair | Geo-Poetic Spaces - December 7, 2018
• Deer Tracks | Geo-Poetic Spaces - November 30, 2018