Matthew Hamilton

Bodhisattva 1963 The road catches fire. Black smokeballoons over Thich Quang Duc like a thousand hands praying. Flames a tamed catcrawling up quiet arms. Lips never move. A man photographed in ash. The Middle-Way Approach Every day I spin the prayer wheel. I drink lotus water. I shake hands with Xi Jinping. I kneel before Buddhain his fat asana. I point my toes northand march barefoot across the Great Wall. The sun burns the wind. Matthew Hamilton is a former Soldier, Congressional Aide, US Peace Corps Volunteer, and Benedictine Monk. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from Fairfield University and is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. His stories and poems have appeared in a variety of national and international journals, including Gravel, Atticus Review, Emerge Literary Journal, Coe Magazine, Noctua Review, Burnt Bridge, Boston Literary Magazine, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, and The Transnational. His chapbook, The Land of the Four Rivers, published by Cervena Barva Press, won the 2013 Best Poetry Book from Peace Corps Writers. He second poetry collection, Lips Open and Divine, will be release in 2016 by Winter Goose Publishing. Currently, Matthew is the Librarian at Benedictine College Preparatory, an all-male, Catholic Military high school in Richmond, VA.