What Soamiji Said
by
Radiance Angelina Petro

There are contests in Alaska
to vote for the fattest bear,
and somehow people find a way
to rig the voting. People have been known
to cheat during fishing tournaments—
stealing fish from city aquariums
and pretending they caught them.
A man in New Jersey built a boat
in his house, and had to tear down
the wall to get it outside.
Garden warblers are finicky eaters.
Attar’s donkey went back and forth
the same journey over and over
getting nowhere. I meditate every day,
and it’s the only time thoughts about
cooking shows and people in Italy
lifting paintings and parading them in the streets
cross my mind. “Have some compassion
for your soul,” Soamiji said. I try to believe
this is all going somewhere. But I too
have a boat inside, and there’s even a snake
at my feet unable to unravel. I’m not going to give up.
I’m willing to tear down the wall
and lift the snake. I will find the right food
for the warblers, and feed Attar’s donkey
mouthfuls of grass for its efforts, and someday—
I will have compassion for my soul.