Two Poems by Steffen Horstmann

by Steffen Horstmann

Haibun

You have seen Vishnu walking between mountains on bridges

Of lightning.  Last night you found shelter in Kanchenjunga’s

Blue shadow.  With the notes still frozen in your flute,

You listened to the crackle of the fire you tended.

Apprentice in an order whose disciples aim to abide nowhere

& to possess nothing, you have made your way

Through the Tingri plains & into the high passes

Where a cavern houses a toppled statue of Buddha,

His head tilted with an ear to the ground.  On nights

When apparitions spray the silence with voices,

When the scent of incense lingers in the moonlit mist,

The stone lips of the Buddha begin to speak.  Many have said

His words cannot be deciphered, others claim he chants

Verses from The Udana, detailing how a person’s actions

Continue to affect the world long after their death.

You now pass the ruins of an ancient monastery,

Approaching the turquoise lake Shiva thawed

From a glacier.  Above the mountains lightning pierces

A rainbow.  You reach into a pouch filled with stones

Of many colors & select one at random to heave

Into the lake’s mirror.

A stone cutting air

Descends into still water

Forming wide ripples

 *    Kachenjunga is one of the highest peaks in the Himalayan range.

Persephone

You still see in your reflection the face of Persephone.

You still dream of her return, the embrace of Persephone.

In caverns beset by a chimera's shrieks, we heard the voice

Of Hades speaking from an ancient vase, of Persephone.

Clouds vanished in the sky like mirages. We prayed for the rains,

For the blessing of Demeter, the grace of Persephone.

The shadows of harpies are gliding across the moonlit Styx,

A lucent mirror reflecting the face of Persephone.

Tears glistened like diamonds in Aphrodite's eyes,

Who dreamt of Adonis in the embrace of Persephone.