SALVE

SALVE

salve aqua
you are the original solvent

it was raining that day when
I figured death
might indeed not have dominion

empathy
entropy
        thermodynamics
and the drama
of the self

down in the crypt-like stacks
of the University library
rain pouring down
(a natural watershed here
on the backslope of this mountain)
here to
      read
        (daily intellectual
spiritual pilgrimage)
lose my head
  in the clouds

or deep into
the Upanishads,
ancient Hindu scriptures

which talk
            the soul’s talk
talk of
        journey and
perpetual migration

trying to
          wrap my mind around
                                    trying
to wrap around
my young
            mind

the rain falling, gushing down
salve aqua
      every single droplet
its
own entire cosmos