Nang Nak Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair

Last night I watched the movie “Nang Nak”
The hero returns home after a war
Lives with the ghosts of his wife and baby
Unaware they died while he fought far away

And then when I turned around
I saw only ghosts abound
Non-real beings, planets, stars
All that my universe bore
And at last, my body and thoughts
Dancing apparitions in swirls
Frenzied dervishes in whirls

I prayed at the feet of the Buddha
Bewildered by spectral samsaara
Did He smile at last?
Or a non-real thought that was?

Or does it matter at all?
That I know is proof after all
That I exist to validate
Real, unreal, non-real
Like a glow that reveals
Self-iridescence concealed

And here I lie now erased
Of body, mind and the seen
A void that has everything
Sans forms and names
And yet the fullest thing
A Buddha living in everything