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Waiting

Kamal Das

I have but one dream in lifeto buy a river.

In the twilight hour, I sit by its bank counting the waves,

Wondering to myself, how would it be to release fish into this water?

Suddenly, brother Subal arrived and sat beside me;

It is his habit to smoke tobacco.

With a single puff, he began to speak

(Subal:)

“Tell me brother, do you truly know what sorrow is?

I have only one desireto sleep on a kings bed.

That wish remains unfulfilled;

I could not become a king, I am but a slave to my dreams.

Yet, I live in hope of lying on that royal bed,

I havent given up; I keep weaving new dreams.

One day, I released a tiny fish into this river’s water,

Believing it would grow large within this river’s heart.

When it is grown, I shall catch it in the corner of my net,

But will it recognize methe one who set it free?”

(I said:)

“Oh brother Subal, you harbor a futile hope,

Does a fish stay in one place once released into the river?

It roams far and wide, spreading its fins like wings,

The one you let go, you shall never see again.

Perhaps it is already trapped in someone elses net,

Or maybe it has traveled a path far, far away.”

(Subal replied:)

“When you know all this, then why do you sit by this shore?

Just as you used to sit here with that person from your past;

She is gone, oh friend, she will never return,

Why wait for her in vain, watching the path?

Perhaps she is someone’s wife now, or living in happiness

Why nurse this pain in your heart by waiting for her?

Forget her, let go of that hope;

If a farmer lives only on hope, his crops will surely drown,

Don’t sit idle in hope, put your mind to work

If luck favors, the harvest will thrive; why wither away in thought?”

“Why be crestfallen over something that is lost?

So I say, forget that person; when someone new arriveslove them instead.”