Peace Garden

By Laura McDermott

Minds appear to be depicted

as mazes and labyrinths lately.

Have you watched Westworld?

The center is always the goal,

The ultimate achievement.

The peace garden exists in the parking lot,

A feature of social media self-aggrandizement.

Did you see her selfie at the center of the maze?
Did you see how she was a Buddhist for a day?

It’s an apt metaphor:

Make your way through the maze so that

you can stop making your way through the maze.

Lose yourself to find yourself. Be part of the collective,

drop the ego. But are you looking at me doing it?
Can you see that I’ve had a feeling of transcendence?

What has peace become?