Monday, December 20, 2010

Tattooing in Qazwin (2)

LeBron James with chest tattoo of a lion;
was he wailing from tattoo pain?
Photo found here.

The ear.
Doc, let's do a lion with no ears this time.

The barber shakes his head and once more
the needle and once more, the wailing.
Where are you now?
The belly.
I like a lion without a belly.

The master lion-maker stands for a long time
with his fingers in his mouth.
Finally, he throws the needle down.
No one has ever asked me to do such a thing.
To create a lion without a tail or a head or a stomach.
God himself could not do it.

Brother, stand the pain. Escape the poison
of your impulses. The sky will bow to your beauty
if you do. Learn to light the candle. Rise
with the sun. That way a thorn expands to a rose.
A particular glows with the universal.

What is it to praise? Make yourself particles.
What is it to know something of God?
Burn inside that presence. Burn up.