LINES OF NIRVANA —
Joseph Osel
not much chance of nirvana
on a greyhound bus from
nowhere to no place
a lady sits in front of you
bird's nest in her hair
you'll never she her face
people don't talk to each other
only the crazies do that
and you'll never get zen
by looking out the window
at dead grass and strip-malls
that's not how it happens
you'd have to kill a man
with your bare hands to get
to get your blood pressure to rise
a nipple above nothing
and if the bus stops in the
middle of anywhere
it will be the same
and you'll have to find your
nirvana in the back of
someone else's head
staring at a tangled mess
or the lines in the road
not much chance of nirvana
on a greyhound bus from
nowhere to no place
a lady sits in front of you
bird's nest in her hair
you'll never she her face
people don't talk to each other
only the crazies do that
and you'll never get zen
by looking out the window
at dead grass and strip-malls
that's not how it happens
you'd have to kill a man
with your bare hands to get
to get your blood pressure to rise
a nipple above nothing
and if the bus stops in the
middle of anywhere
it will be the same
and you'll have to find your
nirvana in the back of
someone else's head
staring at a tangled mess
or the lines in the road
Joseph Osel is a producer, editor and writer.
"Lines of Nirvana" was first published by Silenced Press in 2007.
