Where Rock Meets Bone

 Where Rock Meets Bone
[A poem written ten years ago today; offered now in honour of the Parinirvana]

Ten years have passed,
Ten years gone by.
As the date approaches,
I am haunted by your absent presence.
Your death, unbearable, so real,
Now, far away, it seems so near,
How will we pass the day?
On April 4^th where will we be?

Let us be together,
Not alone.
Let us mix our tears,
Let us feast, let us practice, let us cry,
Let us pledge our loyalty,
Let us mix our minds with yours.
Let us honour your existence with our own.
Let us gather where rock meets bone.

Let the Mukpopa's cooks a great feast prepare.
Let Kusung serve.
Let the Makkyi Rapjam's Kasung march,
Colour Guards the Colours raise.
Let the Dorje Dradul's singers sing
Dancers dance,
Drummers drum.
Let elocutionists pronounce their vowels.
Let lovers love,
Doctors prescribe,
Let flower arrangers beautify.
Let storytellers tales be told.
Meditators meditate,
Contemplators contemplate.

Let us feast, let us practice, let us cry,
Let us pledge our loyalty,
Let us mix our minds with yours.
Let us honour your existence with our own.
Let us gather where rock meets bone.


Now, ten years later,
Still the full moon rises,
Still ice on the walkways,
Still strawberries in June.
Cape Breton still a magical island.
Nova Scotia still our homeland.
Still your face,
Still your breath,
Still your love,
Still our duty,
Still a little time to act.

If  ten more years without you we must live,
Then let us make it worth our while --
And yours.
Let us celebrate a feast of grief
A feast of joy
A feast of longing
To launch the next ten years of catastrophe.
Is KOS a dream gone by?
Let us spend our lives finding out.
Let us gather where rock meets bone.
Let us speak the truth:
That Nova Scotia is Shambhala.
Is our home.

Let us simply shout amidst our tears:
Mr. C.T. Mukpo, Chogyam Trungpa, Chokyi Gyatso, Vidyadhara, Lord and Vajra Master, Sakyong Dorje Dradul, Makkyi Rapjam, Sovereign and Commander of the Three Times,

We adore you, and we will die fulfilling your command.


April 4 1997