Transpersonal Bookstore

By Pandora Peoples

Pairs of feet with toes curled
Around the fibers of burgundy carpets
Wiggle in the dusty sunlight,
Knobby knees cast shadows on fat Buddha statues,
Lively incense dances around
Cherub smiles and
Bearded faces focus on the thin white pages
Of leather-bound books

Gnome wind chimes clang
While patrons duck to avoid crystal fairies
Hanging from the busy ceiling above,
A woman with faux fur cuffs
Dips a hand into a bronze dish of candied seeds,
The kind of digestive treat you get at Indian restaurants,
The crunch of caraway and fennel
Make everyone feel a little more Hindu
And a little closer to the golden Lakshmi Goddess
Offering flowers mudra in the window
On their way out

A black cat hinges at the hips
With his out-stretched paws gripping
The Bangalore rug under a Balinesian coffee table,
Covered in carved pots with violet orchids
Dripping with peat moss,
The green marble eyes of the cat
Stare into the carnelian eyes of a Dravidian warrior Goddess,
Kali takes no prisoners with her sword brandished high,
A goblin head held by a mess of hair,
A bow and arrow drawn,
With a dagger and a pitchfork
Ready and waiting just in case,
Talk about multi-tasking,
This demon-slayer has got what it takes
To kick some serious assumptions
About neopagan feminism
And liberal hippies

The arty postcards and the free herbal tea
Bring students of life in
From the light wind and rain
Bouncing prayer flags on the awning outside,
Mandala art coloring books,
Henna tattoo kits,
Cup cozies made from recycled sweaters
By stay-at-home moms,
And shiny bindis by the register
Make chatting up the androgynous hipster
With a nose ring
A little easier,
The colored glass vulva pendulums
Casting rainbows on the Religion and Philosophy book cases
Are a great icebreaker but,
You still aren’t a hundred percent sure
If you are talking to ‘a girl or a boy’