Prayer-on the Chinese New Year

Prayer—on the Chinese New Year

Arjun, being attacked by a lion—that has been distracted by big WC
photographed by Wai-Sin Li, 2018-02-16

Deliver us, oh gods, from competition
Between yourselves—and also that which rages
Between us mortals struggling on this Earth,
And especially between us humans, who
Are racing so that banks and profits grow—
Deceived by those who’re surely human too
Yet feed off human labor, spreading ignorance—
And cheering as their shares of madness climb.

So on this day, as lions and dragons dance
And crackers burst and strew their colored shards,
And coins and notes are wrapped in red and passed,
We do beseech you, move our foolish race
To pause from racing—and to then reflect
On where your Mammon leads the ones who race.

Arjun, survived, writing, "Prayer..."—with CP taking a break and little WC cut off
photographed by Wai-Sin Li, 2018-02-16

2018 February 16th, Fri—Chinese New Year
Chinatown, Manhattan—New York, New York