Supplicants in ancient Lhasa snailed their way towards the holy Potala from the horizon at dawn, by prostrating their length, uttering a sacred mantra face down, then rising and striding forward exactly one step, only to repeat in piety…

how corrupted things have gotten!

now I begin at moonrise, mapping every acupuncture meridian of her smoldering landscape, articulating each inch-let by a consecrated trinity of gestures, lip, teeth, and soft apical consonant, indulging my nostrils awaiting three of her breaths, then continuing on to the next kisspoint.

some eternity later, my sacrament accomplished, I take sleep, refreshed, in her puddle of lava.

_______RS

NOTES: Within the discipline of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) one of the key concepts is that of the acupuncture (or energy) points along the surface of the human body. These points, over 400 of which are identified by practitioners, are arranged along energy routes known as meridians, and can be stimulated according to varying diagnoses. One interesting meridian is known as the Conception Vessel, which together with the Triple Burner, properly regulates the qi and others of the five feminine vital fluids, including the jing (essence) and the shen (spirit) substances.