Adornment on an Ancient Tomb in Tibet

← v11n2, Fall 2012

They bear a venerable weight on poles balanced on their shoulders,

the sum of their incarnations bundled in leather and tied

With thongs. Windblown snow makes their burden heavier.

To compensate, they cast off memories. This side

Of the Mountain, the ice pack is littered with stories

left behind by other pilgrims. Traveler, you dare

Not touch them: they are poisonous histories

of men and women frozen in tableaus of desire

And stranded forever in this wilderness. Shift the pain

of the pole on your left shoulder. Stumble on.

The ice will come for you soon enough, blesséd one.

religion mortality travel

T.R. Hummer

T.R. Hummer is the author of fifteen books of poetry and essays, most recently In These States (Jacar Press, 2020) and Eon (Louisiana State University Press, 2018). His most recent poems have appeared in The New Yorker , New York Quarterly , and Rattle . A former professor, he served as editor-in-chief for the Kenyon Review , The New England Review , and The Georgia Review . He has received numerous awards and honors, including a National Endowment of the Arts Individual Artist Grant in poetry, a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, and the Donald Justice Award for Poetry. Formerly a professor and editor, he now lives in Cold Spring, New York. Photo by David Limburg