untitled (Gallery)

We went to the gallery, you and I,

to see the art of India,

spending an hour with the tortured,

colored mandala patterns,

successive poses of Hanuman the monkey,

untitled women with zippers for mouths.

We were proud of our learning,

deciphering Devanagari inscriptions,

and laughing in recognition: Washington crossing the Delaware,

Arjuna in his boat.

(History would not be different

with Tom Paine reciting the Gita

to debate the meaning of it all,

instead of saying hell is hard

to beat: be wary.)

Outside, you worry about your frizzy hair

and when you can finish your book;

I worry about your worrying

and when I can have more of you,

on a chilly day, though the sun is bright:

Krishna and Buddha are warring over us.

(3/86)                                                                

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