Lord, my faith in You was not built in a day.

It has been an ongoing process,

A work in progress since my very childhood.

 

I have always cast an appreciative glance

At the Christian spires

Being kissed by the swirling clouds,

The white Minaret tower

Dazzling with the beauty of innocence,

The Pagodas where incense sticks

Burn with love-lit eyes, unpretentious

And the temples where peace reigns

Undisturbed, in spite of the multitasking

Going on outside at incredible speed.

 

I have always wished to see You

A million times,

To kiss You softly and gently

A trillion times

And to talk to You

A zillion times.

 

In this conundrum of time and space,

Where there is neither rest nor respite,

With a melange of malignant conspiracies,

I have always looked for

The semiotics of soul food,

Rapture, to fill the void.

 

Lord, when I understood who You are,

I feel I am a tiny dot in this immensity

Of vast creation which keeps changing.

Now, I see You in all,

The vicious and the virtuous,

The priest and the pauper,

The rich and the poor,

The able and the differently able,

All, the wonders of your creation.

 

I see You in the fireflies kissing the flames,

In the sheep grazing in the vast plains,

The fish swimming in moon-lit lakes,

The corn plantations swaying in the breeze,

The migrating birds flying across the oceans

And in the waves touching the shores.

 

Lord, now that I have known You,

I traverse the silence of time

Like a long Viking boat

Sailing towards a known destination

Guided by the moon and a few stars

While the fishermen mend their nets

On the banks of Brahmaputra

And the scent of sandal wood

Pervades the air.

 

Pramila Khadun