YOU ALONE

You were alone in the city
where no one knew Krishna.
Only a backward boy came,
but Krishna in your heart
was your direct companion.
You had kept your courage on the lonely Atlantic,
and now alone in the ocean of vices.
The Lord protected you,
just as He protects the sages in the forest.
Loitering in neighborhoods
thinking how they could be transformed
for Krishna’s mission.
But it seemed impossible,
and you went to Scindia’s man
to ask when a ship was returning.
Still you extended your stay again:
Let me try a little longer.

Subway trains rumbled beneath your feet,
steel-reinforced concrete soared to the sky,
carcasses hung in the deli windows.
The laws of the streets,
the laws of the traffic
– rush or get run over
the false sense of Uptown Civilization,
dignity for two-legged animals.

But then why are you here?
Now, because it is my duty.
I have brought some message for you people
as ordered by my spiritual master.