Three Poems: Ethan Goffman

Ethan Goffman

Vishnu Comes to Earth in the Form of a Cat

Vishnu, protector and preserver of the universe,
came to Earth as a human,
Rama,
to end the dominion of the brutal demon, Ravana
and usher in 10,000 years of peace, light and happiness.
In a far more obscure matter,
Vishnu, great and mighty protector and preserver,
came to Earth as a cat,
Thelma,
to end my loneliness
and usher in 10 years of peace, light and happiness.
Thelma,
Mother Earth goddess,
queen of fertility,
womb sacrificed,
claws ripped away
wild nature shorn.
That’s the way it is with Earth goddesses.
They sacrifice something of themselves and a bountiful planet springs forth.
Thelma
Empress of the universe
unique
though one of billions,
cycling through lives.
flitting ephemeral
Eternal Thelma.

Thelma and the Blue Jay

Our cat Thelma
at the big picture window
staring at a blue jay
bright, plumed, and perfect
as lovely and alive
as any unclothed work of art
in the Louvre.
Thelma crouches tensed, every iota alert
like a teenage boy gaping at pornography
on the picture window of the internet.
She gets to watch
but she never gets to
pounce.

Insomnia

I have been betrayed
by my family, my country
by friends, colleagues, acquaintances
by the ideal of democracy
by the courts, by checks and balances
by the gods, by God
by atheism
by agnosticism
by gnawing doubt
by arrogant certainty
by myself.
My wife lies beside me
peacefully asleep.
We touch
yet there is a strange distance between us.
At my feet
always with me
blazing with life
even when I am unaware
is the eternal Thelma.

Setu, June 2018