gulab khandelwal selected poems

It is good,
That I am the stone-slab of your threshold.
At least, I get the dust from the feet of your devotees.
Whenever they come
And a flower or leaf falls down from their baskets,
I gladly adorn my head with it.
Had I been the dome of your temple,
I would have remained quite alone.
Neither would there have been so much
Coming and going
Around me,
Nor would I have been surrounded by so many
Visitors.
No one would have bowed down before me,
No one would’ have blessed my head with objects
Of his offering.
I would have remained entirely alone and neglected,
Hanging in the void,
Deceiving myself with a false sense of greatness.