He wandered into the labyrinth
in search of what he could not remember,
perhaps sudden enlightenment, perhaps
a haloed monk, perhaps his history.
He wondered if Buddha was
secretly a saint, if he could be
a working man Buddha, if anything
really mattered, if there was no exit,
if there was a way out and at what cost.
He hated the silence, knew that it
was the key to something he needed,
something that would be his redemption,
his resurrection, his freedom or
a portal to an abyss from which
there was no egress, the road to a hell
without exit ramps, traffic backed up
and ahead the rest stop offering
all you can suffer, no payment necessary.
He knew the moment was coming
so he sat on the cushion and the monkeys
of his mind departed and he was in peace.

FIrst appeared in Children, Churches & Daddies, Vol 345, May 2024
https://scars.tv/ccdissues/345may24/Wanderer.htm