You are not alone: A poem by Pratibha Shenoy

I leaned my forehead against the window frame,

thinking of all the rejection that I’d faced

and was yet to face. How difficult life was!

Then I heard that lazy non-builder of nests,

the shy doppelganger of the raucous crow, 

the winged songster, singing, “Mope not! You are not alone.”

As I ambled along to the market, the scorching heat led 

my thoughts in a strange direction: “Would anybody care if I 

was in danger?” I wished I had a protector. And my eyes fell

on the tall, multi-hued and handsome giant of Malagasy ancestry,

standing beside the road, with outstretched arms, welcoming.

I marveled at the vivid canopy, like an umbrella spread over me!

I felt safe as I heard a murmur, “Fear not! You are not alone.”

As I trudged home after a tiring day, in the dark

of the night, I couldn’t see whither I was going.

Why is there no one, thought I, to show me the way?

All of a sudden, the path became crystal clear. I looked up

and saw the chunk of lighted silver that had conjured up

magically. I spied the rabbit hidden in the silver.

It squeaked aloud, “March ahead! You are not alone.”

How can I ever feel there is no one,

when the denizens of the universe, sentient 

and those that aren’t, on the earth and in the heavens,

keep uttering the refrain, “You are not alone”?