Another Ahalya

Curse me

and make me a stone

and inanimate, if you so wish,

as was once Ahalya

in silence waiting for your arrival,

as a tortoise she reshaped her desires,

her emotions she did not spill,

she aspired nothing but your divine touch.

On the avenue of time

her journey was lonesome,

but never tortuous or fearsome

for she heard your footsteps all along

and to her it was the sweetest song…

Curse me,

Make me a stone,

I shall not raise any question,

for as Ahalya, I shall be noble and pure.

Worldly riches I do not want,

keep me poor if you wish.

But deny me not that distant dawn

to reappear in your garden,

if not as a fresh flower

as a dew droplet on the blade of grass in your lawn!