If you’re unfamiliar with Chogyam Trungpa, he was a Tibetan teacher, of Buddhism, meditation, and art, and founder of the international Shambhala movement. He was an accomplished poet, as well.

I performed this poem with the GESTURE Theater Project several years ago.

AURORA 7 (AND NYINGJE SHELTRI)

by Chogyam Trungpa

When a cold knife is planted in your heart,
What do you say to it?
When you have swallowed a cold stone,
What do you say to it?
When you swallowed a cold icicle,
When you feel love hurts,
What do you say to it?
This kind of hurt, is it pleasurable?
Pain pleasure
Pleasure pain
Cold hurt
Hurt cold
Hurt hot
Hot hurt—
Wish I had never experienced blue sky or green grass,
Beautiful lover (would be).
Would such hurt, gut hurt, throat hurt, brain hurt, lung hurt, such hurt hurt,
Bring about cosmic love affair one of these days?
Maybe the bleeding part should be served as dessert,
With occasional bubble, occasional odor
And occasional music played with it.
Such hurt love is so love love hurt.
Maybe frogs have never experienced this;
The Pekinese, the poodles are lucky
That nobody killed themselves being lovesick.

You hurt
You tingle me
You tingle hurt
Hurt tingle
Tingle hurty
Hurt tingly
Pain
Lust
Love
Passion
Red
Ruby
Blood
Ruby lust
Lust cold
Cold ruby
Frozen rose
Rose frozen
Lust passion
Cold hate
Hate ruby
Passion lust cold hate ruby
Hot ruby lust
Flute hot
Lust flute
Cold icicle
Hot ruby lust passion cold flute
Pure
Pure ruby
Pure hot cold ruby
Lust passion pure cold ruby
Cheat
Hot cheat
Cheat convert
Hot passion cheat
Cheat blood
Cheating blood
Passion ruby flute
Cold hot flute
Play
Hot play
Cheat play
Cheat play hot passion ruby
Drum
Thunder
Thunder drum
Drum thunder
Hot drum hot cheat
Hot cheat ruby drum
Drum drum drum
Cheat drum ruby
Cheat hot passion
Ruby hot piss
Flute
The flute
Throbbing flute
Throbbing heart
Cheat throbbing heart
Hot cheat throbbing passion flute
Throbbing sex
Passion ruby
Deaf
Mute
Mute passion
Deaf passion
Throbbing deaf mute passion in cold ruby liquid.

3 August 1976