The Path Down

When I was starting
to learn Zen,
I thought, unconsciously,
that it was my ticket
to stardom,
but little did I realize
that it was the path down,
so drugs and liquor
and crime
can be the path down,
leading to jail, poverty,
ill-health and death,
but Zen
is the path down,
it has been said,
to the valley
of happiness, contentment,
and good health
and freedom,
but without, usually,
worldly success,
so here I am -
a well-fed,
starving artist,

in suburban Nirvana.