kaali have you smelled the aroma of lost smiles
do you know
whether any one has ever offered you
the bouquet of beliefs
unqualified and undistilled
in your ability to forgive
the encroachers in your garden
have you seen how
the devotees ignore such a bhakta
yet he does not give up
why does he persist with his prayers
so that you may get time to erase
the pains of every one else
and leave all undistributed curses
in his hands to rever resolutely
that is the answer of his search
the lone bird will not need any perch
it will sit over a broken tree
that will take a few months to dry
time enough
for an illusion to persist