he who teaches
is he who is greatest
whether it be a coconut boy
or an urban female
tested in the trenches of the big city,
and if it is she
then of course we speak of
she who teaches
and respect the sage
with flags of disobedience
lowered to the ground
wiping the sweat from our brows
we know we need it -
the wisdom of the wise,
fresh fields of flowers
are where their words can take us,
not to mention lands of crystal snow
where the mountains are vast
and revolve in circles
like hidden planets in retrograde
- from Poems from India 2002
