Antidote

I do not want vacations
I do not want jewels
I don’t mind bouquets of flowers
but someone must take them out
when they begin to rot and stink
          and I am busy spending ink

I don’t want riches
I don’t want gold
I don’t mind pearls
but that’s because they’re a symbol of purity
       – at least that’s what I’m told
I don’t want to hoard for when I’m old

I don’t want too much trouble
I’ll just take enough
to prepare me, make me stronger
for when things inevitably get tough

I don’t want to be a mark
I don’t want to be a thief
I don’t want to receive more
          than my share of beef

I don’t want my own car
I don’t want my own house
I don’t want to own pets
  or really anything else!

It may sound a little lazy
it may even sound lame
   but I’ll take a peaceful life
unburdened by such wanton things

It’s all really perverse –
      this cruel misunderstanding
of how reality exists
         manically apart and magnetically banding

I do not want the wool
pulled over my eyes
I do not want to ignore
the suffering, the cries

I wish to be free from it all
and collect only the treasure of Dharma
for there is no practice too small
and all experiences are karma

I do not want vacations
I do not want jewels
I desire no relationship
I no longer suffer fools
with all my mind in refuge
every moment, every day
it’s incredible how quickly
the three poisons fade away