In spite of the suffering, or perhaps because of it, existence is sacred. Nevertheless, reincarnation should be avoided; liberation from the cycle of samsara is preferable. In this poem I use the word reincarnation to refer to the desire to return to a pre-pandemic “normalcy” which is not only impossible but undesirable. The nefarious among us will suffer reincarnation. May the rest experience liberation.

One villanelle a week on Zen Buddhist and Taoist themes.

This is a villanelle from my first collection, Twenty Villanelles. I wrote this last year at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was thinking of the difficulties that young people will face in their future.  The Way and Power refers to the Tao De Ching. The “pattern” refers to the yin-yang and manji symbols.