Enlightenment
There are no pockets in those saffron robes
No lies or dramas hide behind those un-furrowed brows
Cross legged and directly opposite me he sat
For two thousand five hundred miles
In second class
All the way from Bangkok to Penang
Occasionally we exchanged eye contact and a smile Nothing more would pass between us
The carriage girl served him breakfast on her knees
and received his blessing
I have nothing more to offer you he said
Whereas I would have kept my mouth shut and fucked her there and then
Later when he visited the wash room
I discreetly checked inside the orange sack he left behind him
Which contained his personal mandela a wooden bowl and brand new i phone
In that moment of uncharacteristic deceit and hypocrisy
I became enlightened