Peter Matthiessen is swimming in the pool
he sinks between strokes
from the shallow end to Far Tortuga
the roshi is in no rush
from Sagaponack to the Serengeti
baymen and bodhisattvas
at play in the fields of Sterling Lord
with snow leopards and Crazy Horse
he cannot flee the world
stroke . . . stroke . . . stroke
he cannot flee the work
word . . . word . . . word
he cannot flee the worry
breath . . . breath . . . breath
Peter Matthiessen is swimming in the pool
this American crawl gets harder
from Patsy to Deborah to Maria
awards and accusations
from the Paris Review to Dogen’s dharma
OSS, CIA, LSD, Olympia SM3
from the Himalayas to Bernie Glassman
sherpas and schleppers
Muryo sits at Auschwitz
stroke . . . stroke . . . stroke . . .
kensho meets cancer
word . . . word . . . word
from the sublime to the ridiculous
Mahayana . . . ha . . . ha . . .
Peter Matthiessen is swimming in the pool
the wingspan of a condor
the man is a fiction
strutting like a great blue heron
the man is a non-fiction
sitting like a nesting eagle
the man is a cassowary
crying The Boo-dah The Boo-dah
strike the gong three times
stroke . . . stroke . . . stroke
pray like there’s no tomorrow
breath . . . breath . . . breath
gate gate paragate paraamgate bodhi svana
ommmmmmmmmmm
Bruce Buschel is a writer who lives in Bridgehampton. Peter Matthiessen would have turned 99 on May 22.