My Lord

My Lord

P K Routray

The Lord we pray,

the gratitude we convey,

approach Him for His protection

when aggrieved by affliction

dishonoring the scriptural sanction

“ Leave Him to do on His own

He is your best well wisher

act worriless as a mere actor.

Endure His boon and bane

with pleasure devoid of disdain.”

Atheist may belie

but run to Him when in dismay.

Forgive me dwelling on my way

on it no religion has any say

in my prayer and meditation

wholeheartedly to my satisfaction

I need an absolute figure to easily appear

as the Lord before my mind’s eye vivid and clear

when I meditate and pray the Lord

loss of concentration I cannot afford.

To pray an empty or an infinity

or any light or energy as divinity

keeping at inner sight the figure

which we meditate bow and surrender

with devotion and unwavering concentration.

For me, it was too difficult a proposition.

Hence I forgot my exposures and education

to the criticism of many religions even from my religion

like a naïve, foolish folk in the rural village

illiterate and bereft of civilization privilege

picked up a photo of an entity a mix of man and lion

ferociously tearing a wicked cruel demon

recognizing it as my Lord the infinity, the unknown

as my Christ, my Allah, my Krishna and the Lord of my own

praying him to pardon me for my assumption

that He pervades everywhere also in this photo of man and lion

which for a crawling child is a picture for blissful fun

                                    for a dying man something to pray as the Lord for liberation.