Sunyata
by Glenn Armstrong
The Buddha statue sits serenely beneath a ritually circumcised palm tree. A metal bird sings silently in a cage. It waits for a suburban sorcerer to turn it into a real budgie. The birdbath stands nestled within robust jade plants. A dog statue holds a basket in his mouth. He waits for his master to return from the museum. I lounge under an umbrella and read about the winner of the World’s Ugliest Dog contest. The tumor ridden dog is 17 years old, half Chihuahua, and wears a diaper. The ugly dog’s owner rescued him from a hoarder. A neighbor has a fearless cat that lived in a crack house. What happened to the crack addicts? Did the cat owner save them too? Did she declaw the addicts so they would not shred the couch? A faux butterfly perches in mid wing beat on a plastic plant. The hummingbird feeder is vacant. Detached doors wait for Guanyin’s handyman to fasten them to the wall. The factotum is running behind. He will schedule an heir later if your estate sale has not liquidated all your possessions.
Glenn Armstrong has been a journalist, art model, and monk. While attending Bates College he studied with Grace Paley. He lives in San Diego.
