gulab khandelwal selected poems

O father! know it well,
I cannot give up the right of nagging at your feet.
You might have grown as big as the sky,
I cannot forego the right of walking with your finger
In my hand.
It is true,
You do not kiss my cheeks now,
It is true,
You do not walk now
Carrying me on your shoulders,
Yet, even now, you play on the flute
From behind the bushes,
Sometimes, you smile in the flowers,
Sometimes, you sing in the leaves.
Whenever I wake up in the stillness of the night,.
It appears,
You have just gone from my bed-side.
The window-curtain quivers,
There are signs of your tears on my pillow.
The whole house appears to be filled
With an unknown fragrance.

O father !
I will never forget you.
I will go on singing your praise to my last breath.
Even though you remain hidden from me.