Color

~ by Acyuta Gopi

 

*To listen to this poem spoken by Taruni Radha Devi Dasi, please click here.

 

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I look in the mirror And I see this body With this color That I am supposed To give up identifying with But somehow, I can’t seem to see Beyond the brown.Brown Like the dust of vraja Perhaps you will Place Your lotus feet Within my heart And make your home Within this skin That so resembles Your eternal playground.Brown Like the peaks of Govardhan, Perhaps You will place Your hand Over my life And lift me up, Holding me the way you did The king of mountains. Giving me the ultimate bliss Of Your touch.Brown Like your wooden venu, Perhaps you will Press Your lips to the Spaces in my soul And breathe purpose Into this life So that I will never Stop singing Your tune. Alerting everyone To your inexhaustible presence.Like the wish-fulfilling trees of paradise, Like the cooked down milk sweets You are so fond of, Like the pots that hold the butter You long to steal, Like the banks of the sacred rivers where the wise go to seek YouYou have colored me The shade of so many Of Your favorite things.I look in the mirror And I see the color Of hope Of service Of faith And of love.I see a soul A life An existence Colored by You.

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*This poem is taken from the award winning book Prema Mala