A Lady and a Traveller
Come in and rest for a while, traveller.
I need not know your credentials
nor the place you come from
until you have had your dinner.
But in the moonlit night after
I would love to hear your stories
of forgotten lands and lost glories,
of broken temples and silent prayers.
Tell me the tale of ‘abandoned palace
and whispering hut’ that I often dream;
or is it an illusion, as I'm made to believe?
Traveller, had you been to the land
where sky meets the mountain-peak?
You must have met my brother there
on his way to the place for the martyr;
bravely did he fight, I still remember.
My wander-days are my treasures, lady,
but I'll distribute them free to you.
I left my hearth in search of passion,
to unwind strings that choke the heart.
I camped in land of fairies and tales,
was lost in forests of dancing gazelles,
dusty winds robbed me of mind's Light
and often I lost my way in misty nights.
I crossed brooks, lakes, and rivers
visited fakirs, monks, and scholars,
sat amidst silence of meditative woods
but to me peace continued to elude.
Your innocence is culmination of my
search, lady; passion finds solace here.
Give me some fish more, for I am
hungry and happy as I was never.
--
c s shah
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