Over a year has been etched over my memory molecules,
But your face is still fresh in my eyes,
And the hope to meet you seems never to slacken.

If we were to meet again I would not leave you,
Last time we separated your temporary leave
from me stretched endlessly,
I don’t know why time is so elastic, even though it is a reference.

Last time your face convulsed when I said goodbye to you,
But I believed your reaction was overwrought,
I thought in the long haul time was our friend and not our enemy,
But I know now time is love’s natural enemy:
The days I spend with you melt fast
But the moments without you stretch like light-years.

You have been gone so long that I am having difficulty
Remembering your expression between your mouth and eyes,
Between your two ears and eyes,
I have forgotten which of your eyebrows is longer.

To take a heroic posture and remain
Away from you was the most suicidal thing I have ever done,
I had thought that my gallant sacrifice will hold
me tall in front of the public,
Not realizing that they wanted to keep you
away from me long to hurt me.

At this point I will give up my valor
And lie peacefully under your black trusses,
Let the tide of love overtake me.

We don’t know what love is,
That is why we do many mistakes managing it,
When we think that we are satiated with it,
Actually we need more of it,
When we think we need more of it,
We can’t hold it anymore.

Is love the deepest craving of the flesh,
Or is it a mirror of the soul,
Or is it the search of God,
Or the pursuit of immorality?

Every generation asks these questions afresh
And ends up not knowing much about the question,
It feels that someone is playing a mocking game with you.

When we meet again I will hold you tight to my bosom and being,
Never squandering an atom of you even for a moment,
I will hold you a prisoner for the rest of my life,
Without worrying about your comfort, form, or freedom,
Selfishness in love is necessary,
To secure the treasure and relish it beyond your being.

Love transcends reason,
It opens doors where none looked feasible,
It uplifts spirit beyond worldly power,
It is closer to imagination than any material thing.

Suffern, New York, August 17, 2012; Rev.: 7.29.15
www.kaulscorner.com
maharaj.kaul@yahoo.com