to be Goa, you have to be
expansive
you have to lay bare your heart
to welcome the endless flurry
of dogs and cats and men
who stride upon your ways
to be Goa, you have to be
tolerant
you have to allow the waterbuffalo
to stretch, to deeply etch themselves
in the softness of your belly
to be Goa, you have to be
brave
when in massive summer horde
they litter your shores and
crease your flesh in day & night
reverie
to be Goa, you have to be
generous
in your provision of life supply
to the endlessly tiled paddyfields
that coat your skin in neon brilliance
to be Goa, you have to be
forgiving
when at harvest time they skin alive
and make all your surface scream
with the agony of deftly severed stems
to be Goa, you have to be
accepting
of the sacrifices they will make
of the natural flow of their lives
and in final harmony
the rich marrow of their rest
