Savitri

Don’t be fooled by his commanding voice

Kindness was the mother tongue of his eyes

His brawny arms and firm footsteps

Failed to mask his gentle spirit, I suspect

Blessed were his parents, like Shravan’s

Although they were not carried around in a basket

I fell for him and his kind eyes

I made him mine, that was no surprise

We danced, we laughed, we shared together everything

My hitherto empty cup was overflowing

With envy, the town did us view?

I knelt down before God in deep-felt gratitude

Our little nest twittered in delight

Was it an eyesore for the heavenly sight?

The long arms of Fate reached into my sweet home

And blew out the candles and crushed the blooms

We prayed to the parents to be at our side

From their paradise above, to be our guide

We managed, the scars still healing

A balm to our wounds, our toddler’s singing

Fate loomed around, his hunger unsatiated

Gulped down my beloved, his belly now contented

In a flip of a second, the earth under my feet shifted

How do I console the toddler who for his father wailed?

Was not my love pure and pristine?

Was Savitri’s devotion greater than mine?

Are not my tears and immortal love capable

Of bringing him back Oh Savitri, like your will indomitable

Dear beloved, are you freed from the pain of broken loneliness?

Do the lights in your world bring forgetfulness?

Oh God, now that my cup is empty and dry as a bone

Can I ask you to fill it with an unchanging will to go on?

Footnotes:

Savitri, a princess turned goddess in Hindu mythology, who used the power of her dedication to her husband Satyavan to prevent Yama, the god of the dead, from taking him when he was fated to die.

Shravan Kumar a character in the great Hindu epic Ramayana is known for his devotion to his old and blind parents. He carried them in a basket on a pilgrimage to fulfil their wishes.