Poem: "Neti, Neti"

This poem came out of the April 1, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from the_vulture.  It also fills the "silence" square in my 3-6-14 card for the Origfic Bingo fest.  This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles.

Why are some people
so hostile toward asexuals?

People are hostile
because they feel threatened.

Why are some people so threatened
by an asexual's lack of sexuality,
especially amongst LGBT communities?

People feel threatened
because they fear attack
or diminishment.

To be asexual is to look at
all of the sexual options
and think, Not this, not that.

It is akin to a form of meditation
in which one contemplates every aspect
of mind and body, discarding each in turn,
until only the true self remains.

I am not this.
I am not that.

The idea of giving up
parts of themselves
is frightening to people,
especially if they have
already gone to great lengths --
perhaps sacrifices, perhaps dangers --
to claim those parts in the first place.

To look at an asexual
is to understand
that sex is not necessary,
perhaps even romance is not,
that nobody "is" their sexual orientation
anymore than anyone "is" their religion
or their body or their name.

These things are aspects of identity
but they are not the self,
for the soul is a thing without attachments.

It is like a mirror
catching a glint of divine light --
of course people blink.

It is not that they have
no light of their own to catch,
only that they find this one
unfamiliar and alarming.

They are not comfortable
with their own emptiness,
do not know how to listen
to the silence inside themselves.

Nevertheless,
the teacup still remains,
and it is useful

only because it is empty.

* * *

Notes:

Neti, Neti is a form of meditation in which you set aside everything you can think of until you are left with the pure Self.  Of course, it's not enough by itself; you need to know what to discard and discover what you are at the core.  Learn how to do Neti, Neti meditation.

“Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.”
-- Bruce Lee

The empty cup analogy is a popular story throughout Buddhism.  Know how to explore voidness.