Nothing lasts forever

A poem written in 1999 from the black journal, a. jinha

I am no Muslim, no Jew, nor Christian, nor Buddhist
I am nearer to nothing
as they say, nothing lasts forever!

These are clothes that I wear, Ismaili or Buddhist
the names are reference points or social conventions
underneath, I am naked
aren't you?

I am a lover and a fool
that is why I have these words
but fools have always cried out for love

It is in the crying
and the soft silence that follows
that the great Mother makes us all her minstrels
singing and dancing sweet spirituals
in a great and vast silent sky