Years Ago Poem by Charles Chaim Wax

had a friend
good friend
for more than a decade
we talked of poetry
and how the love of a woman
cured the soul of many ills
though not all
as death still lurked
beyond even
the most passionate kiss
then I went Buddhist
told him of my discovery
and the peace of the man’s words
said I sounded
like one of those Sunday morning
Tele-evangelists
that all I needed
to be the same was
more grease in my hair
and a tie.
Told him I was on the path
now
but didn’t need others
to join
if they didn’t want to
he laughed
finally telling me
to stop the bullshit
that I was just
a failed Talmudic student
on a jaunt through Eastern fantasy.
Two years I listened
every so often
confessing my heart
until I ended his chatter
with distance
sad
that he never saw me.