March 18, 2013

I Knelt Before God !

On a lonely winter night,
When i was five,
Felt scared by the smothering fog,
For comfort, i knelt before god.


I was eight, when we visited your shrine,
Saw people offering prayers in the morning, when the clock struck nine.
I too felt the urge to imitate their acts,
For being just similar, i knelt before you.


The exams had gone fine,
And the results were expected to be in line.
I wanted to succeed so badly,
For success, i knelt before you.


It was the festival of dussehra,
When you shot an arrow down Raavan`s spine.
I was awestruck by what you could do,
For power, i knelt before you.


I saw the kids playing outside,
Refrained from playing with them, as the fever burned me from inside.
I wished for some miraculous cure,
For wellbeing, i knelt before you.


We were eleven and they were eleven,
Still our chances never looked even.
I worked out a plan for a win.
For victory, i knelt before you.


I was treading down the road,
When a beggar begged me of food.
Ignored him like he didn`t exist,
For his upliftment, i never knelt before you.


A neighbour of mine met with an accident,
Oh his car had so many dents.
He fought for survival at the hospital,
For his life, i never knelt before you.


Always thought i was your creation amongst those rare gems,
But look at me, i am selfish, indifferent to other's problems.
Filled with remorse and guilt,
For forgiveness, i kneel before you,
Hours have passed, And i kneel before God.

4 comments:

  1. You share a peak into you culture that is so different from mine. Thank you for that.

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  2. In any poem, preserving innocence of feelings through words is the most important task of the poet. Rishi you have done this so skillfully and artistically in this piece.Your words have added charm to an already beautiful idea..a job well done! ..keep writing...bro!

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  3. I also wonder about only kneeling when in crisis--though the kneeling is metaphorical to me. I like how this poem opens insights into the rings floating outwards from the prayers we live--as if each were a stone dropped into otherwise still water.

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