The Wine

Michael Metivier

When the townspeople

 gave the teenaged Buddha

 a glass of wine

 so delicious he grew

 to an unthinkable size

 and froze into a blue statue

 that shielded the town

 from a wave that broke

 upon his back

 and would have swept away

 the town if he’d not tasted

 the wine and afterward the people

 were overjoyed and said

 they would do good deeds

 like carpool their children to school

 more often and plant lettuce

 everywhere while the Buddha

 melted into water and receded

 into the calm sane sea.