Tears of the Gods
by jet Friday, Jun 7 2013, 11:54am
international / poetry / post

the Chinese believe the
tea plant sprouted from
the tears of Gods
while in India Ganga is
the plant attributed to Siva
who is known as an inveterate
smoker

both attributions seem apt
as both (once sacred) plants
enhance the body and mind

the Himalayas in spring
and summer see the harvesting
of tea in Darjeeling and Ganga-rubbing
in every balmy mountain valley
producing prized black attar

but not to be forgotten is the poppy
its resin produces euphoria
the stuff of dreams
preferred by poets and shaman

a world away the coca plant is
sacred to indigenous tribes and shaman

every plant that alters everyday
consciousness is revered as sacred
for good reason, traditional cultures
do not view altered states as illusory
but as other dimensions of mind/experience

mind mushrooms thrive in cow shit
in northern and southern Oz
tops and meanies,
smooth as can be

police have no business
regulating plants and fungi
used as sacraments

mind plants exist in almost
every clime and locality
the Gods are kind
offering their flesh and tears
to heal our bodies and souls

there is an abundance of
natural Holy sacraments;
refuse all lab synthetics,
they are not of the body of God

"And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with Holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise."