Krishna, my friend

The palace is far away,
and my body is tiring
Sweat pours down my forehead
blurring my vision.
My sun scorched feet
are begging to be relieved.
My food-starved stomach
is angry and revolting.
And my rest- starved body
is promptly following.

But I can’t give up now
They’ll be waiting
Hungry and eager with
hope , their only ally.
One more mile,please!
One more mile
And one last chance
For lives almost lost.

Those must be the flags
of the proud city
Will a wreck be let in?
I’ll have to try.
My walk unsure,
I look up at the
Gem studded walls
I cower as one of the guards
Glares at the tatters
In my barely so, shawls.

Will he remember?
If he does
Will he welcome a
child hood friend
dressed in torn clothes?
Will he?

I stumble into a
pair of spears barring my path
and stammer his name
when roughly asked.

I look up as a
pair of strong arms
hold me steady
and recognize his smiling face.
through my instant tears.
From then on
I lose all sense of identity
I float in to a dream.

A dream where he hugs me
Asks about my loved ones
Orders his people
To bring this or that
for the very special guest.
Wipes the steady tears
With his shawl soft
Serves a meal
for this skinny wreck
with his wife, a smiling goddess.

This I could take, yes,
But not what he did next
with my little gift.
Filled with glee, like a child
he snatched my little bag
of parched rice
Yes, my sweat drenched
dirty bag of parched rice!

“Enough please!”
No, it wasn’t his queen
who held his hands
as you’ve always believed
but I !for,
I have enough sins
In my tattered book
and additions I don’t need.


That soft mouth used to
eating the richest of foods
That soft mouth pampered
by Mother Yashoda,
Those soft lips whose one smile
takes away all pain,
turns a little red
thanks to my parched rice.

I cry out loud, and
he holds me through my sobs.
No, I will not ask him
for any help, this one hug is
enough for me, Iam reborn.
this will do, for this
and many more terms.
Call me a fool, but I’ll not ask.

My own life,
And that of the little ones
are blessed now.
And together we’ll cross rough waters.
Later, with farewells said,
I float towards home.

I cry harder as
I see a vision never imagined
A smiling wife
Well fed kids
A happy house
All filled with riches.

As we sort out, I wonder
Is this the real test by
my dear friend?
Now that I’ve been touched
Nothing else can taint me.
The gold around me
remind me of his face
The gems, his eyes
These too can vanish in a flash
But I will not fail
For I‘ve been touched by
the one, the Vedas hail.

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© Subasri Narendran 2005 All Rights Reserved