The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volume Seven (54 page)

Silk Road

A herd of sheep roam on the meadows ornamented with turquoise flowers;

The crow caws on the pine branch, conversing easily with the magpie.

Flags flutter on a cairn, on a red rock peak where vultures nest.

From a black tent amidst dark old yak folds smoke rises gently,

And the conchs and drums of invited lamas echo in the distance—

Irrepressibly happy and sad to see the highlands of the snow land Tibet.

Traveling, listening to the whistling wind, crossing thousands of ridges but still not seeing the end of the earth;

Irritated by the gossip of the brooks, crossing thousands of rivers but still not reaching the end of the sky;

Never reaching the goal of the nomad’s black tent in the distance—

It is too tiring for the horses and mules; better to pitch our tent where pasture, water, and firewood are plentiful.

November 10, 1972

Tibetan Pilgrim

On the right, a mountain with juniper trees—at its foot a farmhouse topped with white prayer flags—is like a minister on a tigerskin seat.

On the left, a mountain covered with tamarisk trees—at its foot a farm filled with beautiful green wheat and barley—is like a queen on a silken throne.

Straight ahead, a rocky mountain rises above a monastery with glittering gold roofs like a king on a throne of gold.

An old pilgrim feasts his eyes on the richness of some merchant’s camp, and patiently continues toward Lhasa.

November 10, 1972

Trans World Air

On perfecting the Sky Dance

Naropa wore out Doctrine

Metal mirror polished now

Syllable
AH
’s image shines

Young moon searches out a Love

Hearing raven croak caw caw

Snowy mountain’s song echoes

Raising dusty golden mists—

Better drop your iron pants.

October 29, 1973

Translated from the Tibetan by Chögyam Trungpa and Allen Ginsberg

A Flower Is Always Happy

A flower is always happy because it is beautiful

Bees sing their song of loneliness and weep

A waterfall is busy hurrying to the ocean

A poet is blown by the wind.

A friend without inside or outside

And a rock that is not happy or sad

Are watching the winter crescent moon

Suffering from the bitter wind.

February 2, 1974

True Tantra Groupie

Sunset or sunrise in the tantra group—

The wicked people with pocket money

Are supposed to be truly dangerous.

Students of vajrayana watching the glow of fire

Toasting their emotions

Might happen to eat them

With a thin spread of butter flavored with marmalade.

It is good that the fire is burning

That the water is flowing,

Stars in the galaxies are in their appropriate places.

The universe is lovable

To the extent that simultaneous orgasm can be shared.

Fire is red

Sky is blue

Grass is green—

Things as they are.

But they speak an unspeakable utterance:

That they have the right to complain.

Fire is red

Sky is blue

Grass is green

Fire is red

Sky is blue

Grass is green

Fire is red

Sky is blue

Grass is green

Who said that . . .

July 5, 1974

“Tantra group” in line 1 refers to students meeting together to study the vajrayana teachings
.

Glorious Bhagavad-Ghetto

Hawk is silly

Because of its hawkishness,

Good is bad

Because of its goodishness.

Bad is so good

Because of its bluntness.

Raven vulture lizard

A monk a nun

A dog a cat

Venerable mosquito

Sick frog

Healthy guinea pig

Giant grain of sand—

They all speak a mutual language:

Who we are

What we are

Maybe we are

The neighbors might know about us.

Do the neighbors know the tantra?

What is tantra?

Is black black?

Thanks be to the wise or the stupid,

Mrs. Jones

Mr. McLean.

Glory be to the rain

That brought down

Concentrated pollution

On the roof of my car

In the parking lot.

July 5, 1974

Tail of the Tiger

Darkness is good

With an incense stick burning,

Herbert speaks good language

Which becomes onomatopoeic,

Jews Jew

Because of Gentiles,

Thunder is good

It knows the mountains,

Food is bad for you

It makes you eat more,

Magic is contagious

Because there is none.

What is magic?

What isn’t magic?

Is food shelter?

Or is shelter food?

The magicians are magpies,

A tiger is a poodle,

Having a tail is equal to a stiff upper lip,

Giant is dwarf—

Have a baby-sitter!

Don’t tread on the tail of a flea.

July 5, 1974

Naropa Institute, 1974

Long live the longest one

But we should be kind to the short ones

Flea on the Empire State Building

Mosquito in the Taj Mahal

Eiffel Tower like a growth on your thumb

The world is good!

But bad in many ways

On the other hand

Bad and good makes the world feel

Not so good

But at the same time

It makes it feel good

It’s a checkerboard:

Good is bad

Bad is good

Goodbad! is good

Goodbad! is bad

Badgoodgood

Goodbadbad

Goodie is baddie

In the realm of

Goodgoodgood

At the same time

Badbadbad

If we take a cross-section

Badgood badgood

On the other hand

Goodbad goodbad

He is goodly bad

Therefore she could not be

She is badly good

Therefore he could not be

Mutually they are

Goodly bad badly good

Therefore they could be

Because of it

Bad is good

Bad is good

Bad is good

We are at a loss

Lost is good

Lost isn’t good

Facts are figures

Figures are facts

Figurefacts figurefacts figurefacts

Facts are no figures

Figures no facts

John is not Mary

Mary is not John

John Mary John Mary John Mary

Oliver

Olivia

Teeth and tongue

Teeth can’t be cooked

But tongue is delicious for a meal

Facts are not figures

But figures are facts

Computer is good

Because

selected poems

Sun!

Moon!

Star!

Greenery!

Blue flower!

Honey!

Woodpecker!

Railroad!

Lotus pond Marvin Casper

Smile of dark-haired girl

Seduction of the blond

Blond moth

Pekingese pony

Graceful ant

Cockroaches in a New York apartment

Eiffel Tower

Empire State Building

Guards with handsome uniforms

Policeman blowing whistle musically

Ginsberg being pedantic

Joshua Zim in New Mexico

New New New

New New New

New England

New Mexico

Blacks don’t get their privilege

Flying helicopter with cameramen

Honeymoon

Inspired glamorous youth

Wants to be made love to

Silk scarf

Nouveau riche

Good to be with

Jews or Gentiles

Are no longer the question

selected poems

In the realm of youthful exuberance

Skiing in the mountains

Metaphysical debate

Glorious to be the dogshit in Brooklyn

Glorious to be in the glaciers of the Grand Tetons

Halvah is good to eat

Cheesecake is questionable

May they both be blessings on us

Facts and figures no longer important

January could afford to affront

February it’s subordinate

March felt youthful

April is adolescent

Grass is green

Fire is ember

Turquoise is black

From the view of coral

World is good

Good is world

Bad is goodworld

Goodworld is bad

Let us bring

Venus

Glorious to be Ram Dass

When he sweats

With beads of perspiration in his hair.

Duncan Campbell

The moderator

Hot and cold

In moderation

Bewildered Baker

Overcooked Green

Open Secret oven

Glory be to them

While Chögyie and Dassie

Are cooking

Sweetsour curry rockBoulder

Glorious to be

Glorious to be

Glorious to be

Mining town

RockBoulder

Boulderrock

Good living in bhakti

So-called.

GOOD

BAD

BAD

GOOD

Bhakti

Shopper

Realism

Dilettante

Grasshopper

Devoted moth

Confused ant

Spiritual materialism

Syringe

Good grass

Fancy bread

Bhakti provocation

In the name of goodness

Complementary speech

In the name of Trungpa

Everything is good

Ram Dass is cult

In spite of the Baba

Square is round

Rock is water

Fire is tree

Impregnation is abortion

So unpleasant

Embarrassment of Ram Dass

Cutting through is love-and-lighty

Failure is complement

The world of goodness is full of fleas

Glorious to be the inspired true-believer

Hurricane!

Storm!

Thunderstorm!

Redandwhite redandwhite

RedAndWhite

REDANDWHITE

True blue of dharmakaya

Is the only solution,

Devoid of Jacob Needleman.

July 12, 1974

Boulder, Colo.

Pema Yumtso

Gayle Beth

She is not certain

Seagulls

Moth

Honeymooners

Ring of her dead lover

Bees

Wasp

Wise owl

Clark Kent

Yeshiva

Black and white

Flamingos asleep on one leg

Giraffes are not Jews

Zebra likes bucking people

Glory be to Gayle

She’s such a nice girl

Only if . . .

She’s such a nice girl

Only if . . .

Only if . . .

If . . .

If . . .

She is truly what she claims

She is Mona Lisa

She isn’t Mona Lisa

Is she?

Or isn’t she?

If she sleeps on one leg like flamingo

She is

But then she’s not giraffe

Zebra

Is she a lioness

A tigress?

Maybe she is

She seems to be palm tree

She is white raven

She is musician

Dancing on the strings of piano

She’s a little gypsy girl

She’s cute

She’s powerful

She’s the lily of the hidden valley

She’s not secular

She’s sacred

She’s holy

She’s immaculate

She’s complainatory

She is her

She is blue

She’s white

She’s turquoise lake

She is what she is

She’s angry woman

She’s kind woman

She deserves what she is

Oh! she

Oh! she

She is Oh! she

Oh! she

Truth of the matter is

Just between us

She
is
tiger lily.

August 1, 1974

To Britain’s Health

Such sharpness

Such honesty

The world is made of truth and lie

Truth of deception

Who buys that?

Jigsaw puzzle is true

Cyclops doesn’t see double vision

World’s sportsman

World’s prettiest girl

Demanded by mankind of the world

Proud woman

Sharpened pencil

Peacock with dots

Hallucinogenic drugs

Golden Syrup

In the name of Her Majesty the Queen

Hollow cock

Rotten wood

Cathy McCullough at the campfire

I told you

You told me

I’m sorry I forgot

I wasn’t paid for this

Humorous Jack Elias

Bob Halpern as jewel merchant

Tile of Mexico

Let us have a bullfight

Sword of prajna

Impeachment of the Buddha

Holy Dalai Lama

Quarterhorse

Mustang

Stallion

Honorable discharge

English saddle