The Return of Rama

Look the stars in the sky

have fallen to the ground

chasing after the white brilliance

of the night

somewhere a full moon is shining

in the brightness of an ochre robe

The red tilikam so Devi like

sits between the arched gates

of His brows

as He wears the Goddess

on His broad forehead

Her grace is His

there’s no doubt

The fragrant sandalwood

so dear to the Lord

circumambulates His holy form

eyes gentle as unsharpened arrows

lay siege to the ignorance

in our souls

From the deep well of His

sonorous voice

come forth majestic eulogies to the Lord

as water gurgles from

the heart of the earth

sweet glories emerge from His mouth

The softness of His demeanour

is soothing as a white sheet

in summer

every thirst He quenches

of a Bhakta

unworthy well as she may be

As the Lord and the Avatara

come together in one frame

countless homes know peace

sweet breeze blows loudly as a conch

announcing His august presence

in our midst

To the Lord who has come to give

we have only grief to gift

a lowly mind

full of attachments and desires

wailing like a child

for the Mother’s milk

Oh Lord it’s your nature to forgive

as a fugitive on the run

our minds have committed many sins

please remove this stigma

so entrenched in our souls

heal the darkest of corners in a blink

There’s only asking of You

like a song on a loop

You who preside over three worlds

the father of the Universe

the mother of all beings

You radiance like the sun

enchants disillusioned souls

A devotee of Rama

O Lord of this yuga

Your kindness is why tears

flow ceaselessly

in a million lifetimes

we found no such grace

as the one You shower unabated

In your beautiful swaroopa

You are a living Saint

most loving and kind

like an old Banyan

whose boughs have only

a cool shade to give

O auspicious father

of the vast universe

please hear our unsaid prayers

answer them

rain your grace

washing the mud off our disgraced faces

O Lotus eyed Rama

in both your forms

You have stolen our hearts

ripped from their rightful place

oh please return to us Lord

not once or twice but a trillion times…