Pepper Trail

To the Hornet in the Buddha Garden

Under the compassionate gaze of Vajrasattva
You patrol the grounds of the Buddha Garden
Manifesting the perfection of your hornet-nature

Perfection of the chitin encasing your body
From which all impurities have been removed
Perfection of your all-seeing eyes
Symbolizing the purification of ignorance
Perfection of your desire
Which is unsullied by hatred or greed

To your nest in the earth you bring offerings
Of caterpillar and cricket, killed so your babies might live
You turn the terrible wheel of generation, as you must
And if you meet Buddha on the road
You sting him – not once, but many times

Pepper Trail’s poems have appeared in Willawaw, Rattle, Atlanta Review, Catamaran, Ascent and other publications, and have been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net Awards. His collection, Cascade-Siskiyou: Poems, was a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Award in Poetry. He writes and explores the world from his home in Ashland, Oregon.