MOTHER MINE: Poem by Shalini Nandkeolyar

O Mother mine
long did I walk
on your holy bosom
with my feet of sludge
my burden of futile
attachments
hopeless clinging
endless desires

O Mother mine
innumerable wounds
did I inflict again
and again
on your pristine
lap of alabaster,
in hapless births
of dark despair.

O Mother mine
You held me
clasped still
in your arms
of infinite compassion
silently comforting,
cajoling
At times shaking me
with lessons
of pain unbearable
yet shielded ever
by your deluge
of love infinite

O mother Mine
my gentle sculptor!
I know not when
You chiseled away
layers after layers
of barren debris
from lifetimes past
I became your tiny
stone of melting tears
of ceaseless penance

O Mother mine
I know not when
Your forgiving waters
of cascading Grace
Washed over
this tiny pebble.
icebergs melted
Your mighty river
of boundless mercy
carried me tenderly
closer and closer
home to you

O Mother mine
You bathed me
incessantly
with your rays of light
I became
Your soft glow
of light divine
content to flow
with your river’s tide
of highs and lows
undisturbed

O mother Mine
in the hush
of silent nights
when your silvery moon
poured peace alone
on the tranquil waters
I listened intently
to the river’s hymns
of eternal truth
of timeless wisdom

O Mother mine
You touched me
with your immortal
essence
of pure ecstasy
Spirits soared
I don’t know when
I became a speck
of dust
yearning for nothing
but to be
eternally
at your Lotus Feet.

O Mother mine
let me flow
to the journey’s end
holding you
adoringly, reverently
the way the breeze
holds
your sacred fragrance
Until
I melt into your river
Until
The river merges
into your ocean.

Poem by
Shalini Nandkeolyar