Shahaj Songs

I

Stretch out your arms

See how far the ridges run

Over deep chasms

Empty.

II

In this forest

Certain shadows in certain seasons

Yield treasure.

III

O Sabara,

Lay your bed in the meadow

By the moon rock

Sarvamohini Kurukulle

Taut like a thunderbolt

Swing down on me with a roar.

Sing, Kanha, your secret heart.

In this forest.

IV

Together, entwined

We hold our breath

Our hearts pound

Our minds empty

Slaves to the rhythm

Deep inside us

A molten rush of light

Rising together

Flashing Dakini

Dancing free

Look, the candle

Welds our heaving shadows

Together

Feel, my hands around your heavy buttocks

Your legs around my neck

A moan

Slow to rise

Fills our world

Your voice, and mine

As we dance out of time.

-Beq

Mountain Hymns

In the careful garden that she planted,

Nanda sits, leaning on a cloud

xx

I wander east to west

Along the white ridge

From the forests of Bir

To the stupas of Dharamshala

The blue sky flashes above me

Like Manjushri’s sword.

xx

I stand on the lip of the world

Above a sea of clouds

A sparrow dives

A butterfly rises

In the forest above

Live those who are never seen.

xx

On the rock of the moon

The wind rises

A thousand shrieking phantoms

Then a sudden silence

Lonely cairns mark the gates

A pillar of white cloud

Approaches, flickering with lightning

The gates are open

Mercy.

xx

Your dark body shimmers like smoke

In your heart, a red lotus

You laugh like thunder

What would I see

If I opened my eyes?

xx

Mountains walk in through your mind

And walk out through your toes

Rivers flow from mountain roots

And into the sea they go

xx

This vast land sleeps tonight

From valley bottom to mountain top

In the still, dark embrace of Tara

An empty bowl

Of trees, women, beasts.

xx

Little Sonam plays on a bed of apricots

They shine like tiny pieces of the sun

And dazzle the still, blue sky.

xx

At the end of the day

A blush steals up on proud Badri’s face

The dying peals of Shiva’s bell

Rise up like fireflies

And are caught in Chandrashila’s embrace

xx

Beside my tent, a riot of blue

Of shy gentians that nod and sway

When Aksobhya moves through them

Like an invisible breeze.

-Beq