Some Ian Kelleher’s poems have previously been published in The Galway Review.
He lives in Co. Cork, Ireland.
He is a graduate of University College Cork.

Dzogchen Beara

I touched the earth
In the Dzogchen Beara
Buddhist retreat centre,
In Castletownbere.
An orange robed monk
Passed me on the path,
Her shaved head,
An attitude,
Or peace.
Rebirth of spring,
Reinvent yourself.
They were building a Tibetan temple,
A place of worship,
Certain,
Honest,
Pure,
Natural,
Surrounded by green gardens,
With the smell of flowers
Like honey and dew.
I heard only silence
Between bird tweets,
Ruminations,
And the chatter at lunch
As I devoured the divine taste
Of the foods of Shambhala;
An all you can eat
Vegetarian deli.
I wondered what mysteries lay beyond
The boundary of the horizon
On the deep blue Atlantic ocean.
I have never been to Tibet,
Except in books,
So,
Determined not to be
An armchair traveler,
I meditated every morning
Before breakfast,
And lit a yellow butter candle,
Ghostly grey smoke a reincarnation
Of flame,
Essence of thought
In a photo frame.
I took a snapshot,
Some reggae tune still
Spinning in my brain,
Unresolved.