FAITH UNFATHOMED

Riding the waves
in the sea without plumbing her depth ever
was a face to face encounter
with the spark of Divine in the marine water
propelling you to a faith deep inside ,
drawing you to the door of absolute peace
behind the surface of restless tides
like a solitary night’s stay in the sanctorum
after all loud prayers are over in the big temple
you are left unmoved inside
in some unmoving currents of bliss.

You discover the froth of her disgust
was only at the shore , directed
at our unclean habits which hardly
we part with before entering her mouth ;
our murky thoughts needing
some sort of cleansing before
being engulfed willy-nilly by the tides.

The sea returns whatever you give to her—
especially your love is returned
with unimaginably huge interest ;
see how the vibrations of lusty love
spread into every drop of a mighty body
leaving you amazed and motionless
making you a captive of pure faith—
your eyes turn light blue
and you discover faith in every soul :

in the hands of the life- guard who
initiated you to an affair with her heart ;
the hundreds of homeless sleeping on the sand-bed
at night with the hope of a better catch the next day ;
in the eyes of the beloved devotees
in whom you see passion sublimated
under the feathery touch of divine love ;
in the shining eyes of crows who cawed
to wake us to an intimate call .

Now faith shines everywhere—
In the body of shells and shingles
In their enraptured baths on the shore ;
in the over-burdened branches of Barun tree at Charchika
and the Rudrakshya tree at Kakatpur--
in the grip of knotted bangles under red ribbon
to fulfil your wish ;
in the bloom of champak flowers
desiring to drench the waves with kiss ;
and in every act of love and concern
on this holy soil that sings of love and bliss.

Copyrighted :saroj kumar padhi;
05/06/14