Saturated

Heavy drops, carrying more

than they can bear, fall from no-

where, bending leaves already

sagging, and one by one,

the leaves let go.

They drift to the earth,

each quiet as a master

juggler missing everything so

completely that he realizes

he is being juggled.

Surrender is like this.

Not giving up, but

missing and letting go.

~ by Mark Nepo

Koi umeed bar nahi aati...

Koi umeed bar nahi aati

Koi surat nazar nahi aati

There is no hope to be found

There is no resolution to be sought

Maut ka aik din moeyyin hai

Neend kyun raat bhar nahi aati

Death is destined to arrive one day

But why does sleep fail to come all night

Aage aati thi haal-e-dil pe hansi

Ab kisi baat par nahi aati

Once I was able to laugh at the predicament of my heart

Now I am unable to laugh at anything

Jaanta hun sawab-e-ta’at-o-zuhad

Par tabeeyat idhar nahi aati

Though I am aware of the rewards of prayer and virtue

But I am prohibited by my disposition

Hai kuch aisi hi baat, jo chup hoon

Warna kiya baat kar nahi aati

This matter is such that I am prevented from speaking of it

Otherwise what is there that I cannot speak of

Kyun na cheekhun ke yaad karte hain

Meri awaaz gar nahi aati

Why shouldn’t I shout for I reminisce

Yet my voice fails to produce any sound

Daagh-e-dil, gar nazar nahi aata

Boo bhi aye chaara gar nahi aati?

Though the wound of my heart cannot be seen

but my healer, even a trace of its smoldering is missing

Ham wahan hein, jahan se hum ko bhi

Kuch hamari khabar nahi aati

I am in such a state, from where even I am

Unable to get any news of myself

Marte hein aarzoo mein marne ki

Maut aati hai, par nahi aati

I am dying of impatience in hope of death

Death appears,yet fails to arrive

Kaabe kis munh se jao ge Ghalib!

Sharm tum to magar nahi aati!

How will you go to Kaaba, O Ghalib!

You do not bear any shame!

THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"


The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"


The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"


The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant 
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"


The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"


And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!


~ John Godfrey Saxe's ( 1816-1887)

OUTCOMES

The world is full of outcomes

Each day delivers more

At breakfast time there are only two

By lunchtime there are four

By dinner time there will be eight

At bedtime there are sixteen

So many, many outcomes and

I don’t know what they mean

And so we live our lives away

With outcomes big and small

Until the final outcome comes

With no outcome at all…

~Unknown

UPAGUPTA - A poem by Tagore

Upagupta, the disciple of Buddha, lay sleep in 
the dust by the city wall of Mathura. 
Lamps were all out, doors were all shut, and 
stars were all hidden by the murky sky of August. 
Whose feet were those tinkling with anklets, 
touching his breast of a sudden? 
He woke up startled, and a light from a woman's 
lamp fell on his forgiving eyes. 
It was dancing girl, starred with jewels, 
Wearing a pale blue mantle, drunk with the wine 
of her youth. 
She lowered her lamp and saw young face 
austerely beautiful. 
"Forgive me, young ascetic," said the woman, 
"Graciously come to my house. The dusty earth 
is not fit bed for you." 
The young ascetic answered, "Woman, 
go on your way; 
When the time is ripe I will come to you." 
Suddenly the black night showed its teeth 
in a flash of lightening. 
The storm growled from the corner of the sky, and 
The woman trembled in fear of some unknown danger.
* . * 
A year has not yet passed. 
It was evening of a day in April, 
in spring season. 
The branches of the way side trees were full of blossom. 
Gay notes of a flute came floating in the 
warm spring air from a far. 
The citizens had gone to the woods for the 
festival of flowers. 
From the mid sky gazed the full moon on the 
shadows of the silent town. 
The young ascetic was walking along the lonely street, 
While overhead the love-sick koels uttered from the 
mango branches their sleepless plaint. 
Upagupta passed through the city gates, and 
stood at the base of the rampart. 
Was that a woman lying at his feet in the 
shadow of the mango grove? 
Stuck with black prestilence, her body 
spotted with sores of small-pox, 
She had been hurriedly removed from the town 
To avoid her poisonous contagion. 
The ascetic sat by her side, took her head 
on his knees, 
And moistened her lips with water, and 
smeared her body with sandal balm. 
"Who are you, merciful one?" asked the woman. 
"The time, at last, has come to visit you, and 
I am here," replied the young ascetic.


~ Rabindranath Tagore