World Upside Down

Would you like another drink
A cigarette sir
The monk in his robes is meditating
Feet crossed on the tiles
Chanting in the mountain valleys
Smoke rising from brick chimneys
A farmer saws logs and splits firewood

I have never felt so calm
Falling through the sky clouds
Crossing the windows swords

Exploding into Matterhorns
Done with the woolly cows and yaks
Upturned begging bowls for hats
Askew on their shaved heads
Hanging by their saffron robes
From sturdy limbs

We prayed for our brothers to come home
The town was in a fury as we came together
Determined to oust the ghost
Who scattered poisonous rain
Who chanted in the bonze’s ears
Who distracted god from his calypso of creation
In the sapphire room
Where his throne was swept
Where god finally wept