Bodhisattva
written by: Devesh Path Sariya
That afternoon, in Taipei
I recalled the Stoopas of Ladakh
when I saw you singing on the stage
wearing that white dress
Of all the hands
that I’ve ever got to hold
yours was the softest
If our poet* had held that hand
It would be ‘soft’ instead of ‘warm’
in the poem
Why would anybody
let that hand slip off?
Your visa could not be extended
You are going back home
To the country, they call the most powerful
But your heart is stuck
On this small island
Attachment is a human weakness
Doesn’t suit the powerful
The poet in you overpowers your wisdom
Go!
No color would be extinct in my world
White, however, would become dull.
We both
won’t be able to become
the Bodhisattvas.
* References to the poems by renowned Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh. There’s a famous poem by the renowned Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh where he says that the world should be beautiful and warm like the hand.
- Bodhisattva - May 27, 2022
