Ganesha the elephant-headed

Great Ganesha,
elephant-headed
idol of India,
god of wisdom and poetry,
remover of obstacles...
an amulet with your image
once staved off
diseased death
from this young poet

I have revered you
as far as my beatnik nature
allowed,
have meditated upon
your silver statuette,
have hung your tapestry
on my wall

and yet the cold clouds
do not dissipate,
though some blue sky spirits
hold the noble field of battle
wielding like spears
Ra's golden rays...
it is not enough

please bless me
with hope, strength, and valor
not to join bloody battle,
but to preserve my life
and my dignity,
that I might pursue poetry
as passionately
as a desert merchant pursues gold,
as a love-seized youth
pursues a damsel,
as a tiger pursues prey,
bless me
that I might honor and learn
from you

please, let my old sins
and blasphemies
be forgiven,
as there must come more
though perhaps
some of these might be virtues
in your divine ideals

please my sweet lord,
extend one of your many holy arms
and touch this lost life
of your afflicted but artistic follower...
I will write poems,
I will honor you,
and I hope to right myself
that not only in verse
but also in the tempted choices
of sordid daily life,
you might again at times
take some small pride
in my verse and carriage
here on mortal Earth

namaste