Every summer the Blue Buddha hosts a magnificent garden party

and invites all the hungry ghosts to a picnic under the trees,

in the place where the underworld butts up against his lawn.

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Dressed in their best white linen sheets, all those who were stingy and mean spirited

to others in their former lives and came back as hungry ghosts

gather around the table, happy to be there, and quite anxious to eat.

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There is plenty of food for all, but before the guests can touch it

the Blue Buddha instructs his guests they are only allowed to eat

what each of the other guests is willing to share.

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And every year the bright sun rises and sets until all the hungry ghosts,

unwilling to share what they have, float back to the underworld with empty stomachs

and resentful hearts hoping that next year all those other ghosts will stop behaving so badly

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Published by Wee Sparrow Press, 2024