mantra

[Chuck Levenstein]

Om Nama Shivaya


I asked my teacher for a mantra
and he scribbled one
on the back of his card.
I put it in my pocket, a good place
for mantras prior to use.

At home I peeked,
only to discover the new secret
was the mantra I have been using
for years, since the beginning
of time! What secret potion is this?!!

Like a peasant at the Western doctor’s office,
I cried:

Give me something, an amulet, some garlic,
a red scarf to knot around my neck!
But no, he gave me what I already had.

Some teacher!