The Bodhisattva’s Dream
by Will de Kypia

With fulsome apologies to
the Buddha, all bodhisattvas,
tengu, and William Butler Yeats



The bodhisattva rests on her futon,
too weary to clap, even with one hand.

She slips into a deeply troubled sleep,
dreaming the most dreadful dream.

A rough beast, newborn, tawny, pitiless,
is slowly slouching back from Bethlehem.

The beast comes upon a spreading fig tree and
circles it thrice. The tree withers and dies.

Still dreaming, the bodhisattva watches the
loathsome creature approaching a modest hut.

Her hut.

The beast bursts in, raging and roaring.

The final gyre has begun!
I am the last messiah, lord of
the end times and ruler of proles.

But not in this form, for if
the rabble perceive me as I am
they'll know I have no soul.

To beguile those maggots I must
conceal my true self. Is there
anything here to aid me?

Ignoring the sleeping bodhisattva,
the furious beast explores her hovel.

In a small alcove hangs a mask depicting
a tengu. The legendary being which may be a
benign protective spirit, a mischievous prankster,
or a demon who causes chaos, war, and destruction.

Depending on the character of the mask's wearer.

I shall possess you, the beast says.

It seizes and dons the mask, gives one more
bestial roar, then vanishes into the darkness.

The bodhisattva awakens at the sound.

She recalls her nightmare, sees the
alcove where the mask had been, realizes
what she dreamed actually occurred.

Her third eye discerns the
odious ogre shambling towards
a place called Armageddon.

There it can assemble an army of true
believers and use it provoke a struggle that
might well annihilate the human race.

The weary bodhisattva must find and expose
the thing hiding behind a mask. Otherwise…

Diogenes, the ancient Greek philosopher,
wandered the city of Athens bearing a lit lamp
in daylight looking for just one honest man.

The cynical old sage was puckishly
saying that in his time on earth he had
yet to discover a single righteous person.

Now the bodhisattva is wandering the
promised land seeking an ungodly beast
wearing a visage stolen from a nightmare.

She hopes to remind us that in
these times one soulless monster
could destroy the whole world.
______________________

On November 5, 2024,
you will have two choices.

Remember:




Choose wisely…