prayer flags at Da Bao Monastery

the wheels creak like birds
where pilgrims have passed

some prayers are trod to ground
none forgotten

a forest of flags all ages
above

wheels all the way up the hill
and we turn them
for world peace
for friends absent, present, on the way
for this place, its people
for all we selfish selves desiring

in cowbells now a sow approaches
rooster heralds all

prayers knotted through trees hill high
all flags tied to this one breath
the sky composing
a roof of prayers

pouring home these words to air devoted
and high above the motor's hum
hear the shepherd's horns attending
chicken on the grassy rooftop
squirrel in the arms of pine

shadows of prayer flags
grounding move earth

the mountain itself in prayer
where the flags soak in with each rain

and there are clouds the day has brought here
brought with the silence of words long since left

after this singular breath, say eternity
at last there comes
the scramble of tourists
reminding me who I am