Shift
Barbara Huntington
Sit on meditation bench
something happens, doesn’t
mind falls into abyss
No words, no images
bow to towering stone Buddha
sit on meditation bench
Above me the Buddha sits serene
below the Buddha I bow
something happens, doesn’t
I am the one who bows to the stone Buddha
I am the statue that crumbles as it bows to me
mind falls into abyss
I wrote "Shift" on a day when I was at a five-day silent Buddhist retreat in the desert in Joshua Tree, California, just sitting and meditating when I found myself both on the meditation bench facing the Buddha statue, and also as the Buddha statue facing me. I wrote it as a way to remember the time I felt my consciousness shift.
BARBARA HUNTINGTON was born in Albequerque, NM and recently retired as Director of the Preprofessional Advising Office at San Diego State University. She has written poetry, children's books, memoir, and a handbook about how to get into the school of your choice, and her students who overcame tremendous odds to become wonderful healers as physicians, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, physician assistants, optometrists, chiropractors and naturopathic doctors.