Prayer (Dug up from a 2006 hand-written note)

Pray, pray to the Lord,
The Almighty; save me
Once and for always.
In return let me donate
A thousand quids
To your big temple.
They may use it
To pay the temple employees.

Pray that my son's studies
In the UK go unhindered.
My daughter be married off
Without hassles.
And my wife should stay
To serve me till the end.
Don't you take me away soon either -
I have just started my life
After retirement.

You pray and I pray;
The God will take care
of me and you and the others.
He'll solve our problems
While we sit and watch daily soaps,
For He is a magician.
You and I will take a dip
In the Ganges and be sanctified.
He'll be pleased.

Praise be to the Lord! He,
who listens to the prayers
Of you and me and the others. 

Everyone's poems

I.
Tears hijacked his dreams,
Fear overtook love.
In rotating ceiling fans
And rolling hips of dancers,
He searched for them both.

II.
I sold myself to the wrong people,
The wrong people solicited my souls.
Amid a flurry of wrongs,
My heart set out to claim some rights.

III.
The blue veins shone through her fair skin,
And the knife in her hand glistened.
The brightness of the red spilled
Was also never disputed.

IV.
Rheumatism, Arthritis, Blood pressure, Insomnia;
There was no ailment she was not proud of.

V.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Dust, smoke, CO2, NO and a little oxygen.
The human is contented.

VI.
There's nothing to cry for in grief -
Too common, Too plebian, Too low.
There's nothing to laugh in glee -
Too fickle, Too smug, Too depraved.
The saint sought them all in saffron,
And God.
Amen.

Rabba…

Tired and loveless
Is not what I want to feel.

I thought I was stronger,
I could stand a little longer,
But the feet give away,
And the heart takes time to heal.

I walk the lonely shores,
As the fishermen wind up their chores,
The sun sets in the horizon,
And the world seems all right.

But my mind is a flood of thoughts,
Like a basin full of clanging pans and pots,
And I hate being so ruffled
Over what I thought I conquered.

Nothing saps the brain more
Than loneliness after a phase of cheer.
A Bollywood song runs in my mind,
"Aaye jo koi to kabhi jaye na rabba",
And when I look up at Him,
He seems to be hiding in the dark clouds.

Worship

I.
My body is a temple
You are my idol.

My soul, an offering at your feet.

I welcome your worshippers
with divine charity;
I elevate myself through your service.

The unspoken and the unspeakable
Cloud my life.
I offer everything unto you.

They touch me,
Grope around my curves,
Squeeze my flesh lustily.

They worship you,
and hungrily devour me - your prasada.

They melt in me,
And I, in you.

Take me higher,
show me my Paramatman.

II. (May 19, 2010)
Men offer their prayers at my shrine
And move on, not thine nor mine;
They wash their faces in my tears,
Their lips speak all my fears,
Their prayers tainted by lust,
They mutter and mumble and lazily chant.

I wonder at their farce,
I cringe as they touch me -
their vulgar fingers coated with greed,
I laugh that I am their deity
I cry about all lack of piety.

A little temple, a little idol,
A little unknown and yet sought after,
I seek those days of total anonymity
I wish I had a mortal death, a bout of insanity.

Aham brahmasmi

I walk in the shadows of dreams,
I look at the reflections of mirages,
I feel the breeze of distant storms,
I speak the unknown thoughts.

Like the currents of rivers, I flow,
Like a rhapsodist's passion, I grow,
Like the chirp of a bird, I resound,
Like a thundering cloud, I pour.

I am every man's desire,
Every woman's ideal soul;
I amuse every child around,
All humans wonder about me.

I grow,
I create,
I touch,
I move,
I think,
I love,
I choose,
I destroy.

Aham brahmasmi. (I am the Supreme power)

It's a long long journey
And I'm dripping wet.
I don't have any money,
Just lost a bet.
If He was to come
before me now,
What would I say to Him?

Take me away,
To the land of your sway;
Give me break
From the curse of myself.

All I ever wished
Was to be a good girl,
Will You tell me
Where did I go wrong?

It's a long long journey
And I'm really hungry,
I just gave away
My food to the roadside baby;
If He was to ask
Why did I do that,
What would I say to Him?