the lama washes dishes
at least she did at my house
or was it hers?
white plates silver pots
and lots of plastic containers
with lids
piled high on the wooden drainboard
she wore her robes
deep maroon offset with an ivory border
I don’t know how her sleeves
didn’t end up in the dishwater
the lama washes dishes
she with stunning straight gray hair
and endless blue eyes
told me that sometimes you have to go phfft
and she made a sound with her lips and teeth
like a child’s version of phat
meaning sometimes you have to just liberate
the patterns and demons instantaneously
as my yogi friend with the gray beard says
you have to wear them like serpents around your arm
the lama washes dishes
and she asked me what my offering was
to her
my response was whatever she wanted
and with a secret smile she picked up
a child’s pin with the profile of an angel
and a blue beaded Christmas ornament
another angel
with a trumpet
which were apparently in a box of items I had given her
they had spilled onto the floor
and now were being organized
by her helpers
according to color and category
where before they were just a jumbled pile
of discarded objects
like my mind before prayer
