Karima Diane Alavi, “Enchanted Buddha Fish”
Karima Diane Alavi is a regular on our Writing Prompt of the Week Zoom. Her poem "Wonders of the World: Enchanted Buddha Fish Sing a Song of Purple." opened the May 2022 issue of the Ekphrastic Review.
Wonders of the World: Enchanted Buddha Fish Sing a Song of Purple
So I’m standing in front of the Buddhist Master
who’s ignoring me
because he’s sitting in a cave
draped in lion skin, and made of stone
But that’s okay
Because the stream surrounding him
is filled with fish-gods who shimmer
beneath the splendor of an autumn light
drawing each moment into the mist of their water-shadows.
Across the river an ancient monk meanders along a bridge
its wooden planks drawing deep breaths each time he warns
that there are ghosts wandering the bamboo groves
And my son moves to my side
to gaze into the cosmos spinning beneath us
silken veils of blue, green, yellow, white
centered by a glow
soft as the moon halfway through its midnight journey
Which causes me to wonder if it’ll be dark
by the time we get on the Harley and ride down this mountain
But that doesn’t matter
as much as the fact that right now
flames are devouring the jungle
we’ll soon be driving through
and we don’t even know it yet.
My eyes drift back to the fish
but the moment I turn they swirl toward panic,
reversing direction in one swift movement
their scales embracing the shape of a golden leaf
before their neon blue descends toward the sorrow of purple
and I toss them a piece of bread
while asking them out loud
Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?
