models
the lorry arrived
one thousand CDs
my album
was here
a bunch of us
ran down the stairs
the guy rolled up a shutter
hefted out one of the boxes
one hundred copies
excitement built up
negotiating cardboard
flaps and folds
then there it was
Mantrasphere
the printing looked ok
there was fiddly cellophane
and everything
an actual real album
at last
the first copy
I gave to the driver
a sort of good luck ritual
he accepted with a sniff
made me sign a form
and got gone
there was a party
a few weeks later
a programmer friend
turned fashion photographer
had a bunch of models
over for a house party
it snowed
I skidded
mostly sideways
grimly determined to make it
whatever the damage
after all
you never knew
we might get snowed in
and now I was
a genuine
bona fide
recording artist
it might have a Buddhist theme
but I aint
no monk
Mantrasphere album