ghazal ("in every part of India")

You have left your mark   in every part of India
your delight I hark   in every part of India

in the north & south   & east & west & center
shine your light & dark   in every part of India

the accounts of Ram & Krishna   tell your story
Mahadev gleams stark   in every part of India

you have ruled Ayodhya   and you've wandered homeless
in your clothes of bark   in every part of India

you have wooed the cowgirls with your flute's enchantment
carefree as a lark   in every part of India

isn't yours   the peerless insight of the Buddha
in the Jetta Park   in every part of India?

how the dargahs & the masjids hold your presence
we're aboard your ark   in every part of India

mightn't Raphael   desire to light a lantern?
let him seek your spark   in every part of India



5 July 2007
written in Mumbai (Kandivali, Thakur Village)