Go Get Your Own

in 1958 i climbed
a steep ridge
up the side
of the himalayas
with a sherpa
and a goat
to meet the dalai
lama, before he
left tibet for good,
and he said
to me when i arrived,
that here is no
such thing
as true happiness,
or being content
and full,
and satisfied
with life exactly
the way it is.
you could
always, given
the chance, make
things a little
better. make
things a little
more right, a softer
bed, a brighter
light, and then again
he said, smiling,
there is always
icecream to take
your mind off
of everything.
his bowl was full
of chocolate chip
mint. there were
melted drops of
green in his beard.
he offered me none,
go get your own,
he said. and i
realized that
his selfishness was
teaching me a lesson,
one that i absorbed,
and have passed on
to others ever since.