BARDO

Imagine the bardo as house party.
Whispering comes to you: "Remember,
what you see and hear is temporary.
Retain yourself and do not drink the water."
(The dancers already partook of it.
They will be returned as a rabbit.
An enviable fate in some ways;
haunches like springs in the summer.)
The ravenous ghosts are all shilling.
They have eaten the coins on their eyes.
They want yours. Well, that's not a surprise.
And there is some sort of discussion;
the question at hand being "What do you do?"
A runner, a builder, a father, a Virgo, a Jew.
Whispering comes to you: "Remember,
what you know and love is temporary."
Green light's spilling out of a bedroom.
People waiting in line for a yellow light
shining brightly behind a closed door;
or smoking red light on the second floor.