Birth in Exile (a poem)

[Guest guest]

Having drawn her in with sweets

You make her drink bitter wine

Intoxicating her with Your love

You left her behind in Vrindavan

And she died pining for you

Unable to eat or sleep, she waited

For your promised return. Your friend, your lover.

Now she passes from birth to birth

Tears streaming from the eyes

You give her life in a faraway land

Where your Name is not spoken

You give her wealth and a home

And a dead heart

Eighteen years she walked in exile

Till she crossed paths with a bhakta

Mistaking him for You, she followed him

To the temple. You caught her eye,

Smiling at her with those lips

Daring her to kiss them once more. Oh Shyam,

Now she cries more than ever

With You so close, yet still so far away.

She begs for more and more Krishna prema

She begs to be drowned in Krishna prema

People call her a convert or confused

I tell them she's a slave

Who goes wherever Hari wills.

 

~Vanamali

[Guest guest]

Very nice, prabhu. Thank you.

[Guest guest]

What is this poem about? Radha?

[vanamali]

It's not good to explain a poem, I think. Anyway, I will do so briefly. It has to do with my own relationship with Lord Krishna. I am feeling strongly the pain of separation from Him right now, and He has been playing some naughty tricks on me lately. It does sound like it could be about Radha or another gopi. I am not trying to put myself on a par with the gopis who are the foremost devotees. But anyway, the God has made me fall in love with Him, and then left me, and in my madness I can do or say anything. Please don't mind.