The Shaman Charged Too Much


The shaman charged too much

for your own breath.

The savior hid your soul under a cup

and switched it with his own.

The guru ran off with your Shakti

during the honeymoon.
She came back weeping and ashamed.

Meanwhile the leftist tricked you

into thinking you were some oppressor's victim,

while the fascist promised to make you great again

if you worshiped his flag and shouldered an AR-15.

The yoga teacher told you your body was God,

but the Channeler of Ascended Masters
insisted all flesh is an illusion.
So you went to a workshop in Bali
with a non-duality stud who used to be
a tennis pro named Marvin, but calls himself
Ananda now, and spends the whole week
reminding you he teaches Nothing,
because there is no teacher, and no one to teach.

You felt guilty when you asked your bank
to cancel his $5000 check, so you
sent him a new one, made out for Zero.

Maybe that's why you went back to church

and tried to feel like a sinner,

so you could get saved.

But there was Nothing to get saved from.

What will you do now that you've followed
every path, and wound up here

in the old growth forest again?

Don't become cynical, friend.

Just take off your shoes and wander all night,
barefoot on broken moonbeams

among the Bleeding Fairy Helmets,

fungi Mycena Haematopis,
sprawling in trillium, cradled by cedar roots.

Listen through the darkest hours
to shush of owl wing raven croak
embodied howl of grandma coyote
until your lost enough to cry,
"I am home, I am home!"

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