THE TEA OF FORGETFULNESS

[MARC SELSBY]

                   Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, 
                              Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, 
                               Raze out the written troubles of the brain 
                   And with some sweet oblivious antidote 
                             Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff 
                   Which weighs upon the heart?

                                                                                         MACBETH

 

In the Western Han Dynasty some 2000 years ago

Lived the erudite Mrs. Meng Po

Cooking was her specialty

Her masterpiece - the five flavored tea

 

But inside her house it was a different show

An argument was ensuing between Mr. and Mrs. Po

With her husband’s other women she was disturbed

And she sought a way for that to be curbed

 

The cure for this type of restlessness

Was the five flavored tea of forgetfulness

So what the talented Mrs. Po decided to do

Was to cook up a very special brew

 

With leaves of Neem and Mangosteen

With Lychee bark and eglantine

It had the great durian with wild thyme

And every possible coenzyme

 

But the awesome mixture had an unpredicted effect

There was, in fact, nothing he didn’t forget

He ascended to heaven through the back door

Passing reincarnated beings by the score

 

And when he reached the Naihe bridge

Mrs Po was on the other side waiting for him

Considering the situation to turn back he tried

As his memory of earthly pleasures revived

 

Mrs. Po thought she knew how to prevent-em

Because a souls massless body has only ethereal momentum

She called him to come over to her heavenly land

But  couples can only cross Naihe bridge hand in hand

 

Mrs Po now sought out better preparation tools

She studied  art and science at the best culinary schools

And when she learned that quarks had flavor

That was an extravagant concept she could savor

 

But ordinary people hadn’t even heard of tea

That was something for the aristocracy

Only the Buddha listened to their woes

And proposed the idea of transmigrating souls

 

The king of the Netherworld had his own views

This oblivious elixir of hers is something I can use

My long suffering souls are in need of a muse

And to this offer the Goddess Meng Po didn’t refuse

 

Grandma Po (yes – she had aged)

Is still making her tea (but it has changed)

They say it has improved since 200 B.C.

But now it’s canned and bottled and enhanced with MSG