Red Tara in the 21st Century

Red Tara in the 21st Century

seated on a lotus
in one giving hand you hold the bottle of medicine
is it lexapro or synthroid?
in the other the utpala flower and the bow and arrow made of flowers
but not to pierce and capture
a date from the internet

your skin shines like rubies
your foot poised to help
the silks wrapped around your body
your beauty like beyonce with her wide-spaced almond eyes
and smiling lotus lips

as my mother lay on her deathbed she embodied you
arms outstretched
and eyes shining like wish fulfilling jewels
love pouring out in waves of radiance
for this is what she taught me
the love for all sentients, the love for self
in all the samsara and imperfections
of an “unmarried woman on anti-depressants”
and more than this the final lesson
--as she soared out through the crown of her head
becoming white light--
the ultimate secret and truth
where nothing exists
--no suffering, no afflictions, no search for love--
that of pure and complete
dissolution