The Dalai Lama's Laugh

The Dalai Lama’s Laugh

I wrote a poem a few years ago

that my friends really liked, but

I lost the poem.

I have been upset for many years

that this particular one got lost

due to carelessness.

Sometimes when I drive my car

I feel like banging my fist into

the window.

Because I lost this poem.

a little gem of a poem. My gem.

irreplaceable.

This evening when I was driving

I was reminded again of this

Lost poem.

So sharply do I feel its loss

it is like losing a country or

at least a lover

I fell into a thought today

and I was skimming my mind

with this pebble

Tibetan monks spend days

of intricate work making

marvelous mandalas

After it is made, they,

routinely destroy the work

Of many hours

They would’ve deliberately

lost the poem, and this thought

scares me.