roll on Columbia U

the God of war
isn't inside your nose

its snot and disgusting
undergraduate brain matter
witless on an early Friday afternoon

the white tiger stalks

the blue dragon pausing in attack
hears your juvenile rantings to wonder
after all that Blake has said
has it really come to this?

the Pagoda of Ravens
isn't the harbor where you dock
the ship of fools

the Lake of Scintillating Brightness
points to the near hill and mountains
visible in a forested distance
mock your childish NewYork babble

scorn?

there is no time for laughter
while the beautiful jade tree mounts
the granite steps at the entrance door
of literary study

so enjoy the sublime adolescence
sucking your wrinkled thumb

the lotus flower watches in amusement
from a ferry near Staten Island

the red-crowned turkey struts to your simple music
beyond the pulse of a Beethoven beat

the Gate of Dazzling Virtue
shades her eyes
pointing along the wide terrace

you are alone as you stroll
but you cannot pass through

the garden will not wait.