gulab khandelwal selected poems

O father !
Forgive me
That in the intensity of sorrow,
I saw life in fragments,
Distributed in dots,
A full circle
Without any beginning or end.

Forgive me
That I wove a garland of flowers
Round the neck of a corpse,
Glorified myself with the power of speech
With which I had to sing your praise.

Forgive me
That I did not consider my wants,
The gift of your kindness,
Struggled with them to the end,
But did not see in them,
The proof of your love.

Forgive me
That although, I myself always want to be forgiven
For thousands of sins,
I instantly send others to gallows
For committing any of them.

Forgive me
That I sold in the market,
The flowers meant for your altar,
Exchanged with pebbles,
The gems
That were costlier than diamonds and rubies.

Forgive me
That I could not stand the test of my own theories.
Praised great men
But never followed them myself.

Forgive me
That I called my own,
What you merely asked me to carry to others.
Grasped entire value of the goods,
When I only deserved the wages.