Landlocked

LANDLOCKED IN FUR
—Tukaram

I was meditating with my cat the other day
and all of a sudden she shouted,
"What happened?"

I knew exactly what she meant, but encouraged
her to say more—feeling that if she got it all out on the table
she would sleep better that night.

So I responded, "Tell me more, dear,"
and she soulfully meowed,

"Well, I was mingled with the sky, I was comets
whizzing here and there. I was suns in heat, hell—I was
galaxies. But now look—I am
landlocked in fur."

To this I said, "I know exactly what
you mean."

What to say about conversation
between

mystics?


(Translated from the Marathi by David Ladinsky)

_____________________

—Medusa