His hair flowed in locks. <br />Beard grew unchecked. <br />He resisted matrimony <br />For his mind was wandering <br />In yonder wonderlands. <br />Though he breathed an aristocratic family air, <br />Though he courted with the court of law, <br />A Brahmacharin he lived, <br />Hunting and gathering fruits <br />Ever in the deep jungle of truth. <br /> <br />One day at a marriage ceremony <br />Of some close associate, <br />His eyes fell down from a balcony <br />Into a speaking spectacle: <br />He saw, while the rapture <br />And the glitter of the occasion <br />Was spilling around, <br />A maiden, the sister of that day’s bride, <br />Straying into the company of a menial. <br />He saw the young lady <br />Crouched beside an old servant in the scullery. <br />She was helping her wash the dishes. <br />Before long, he was before her mother. <br />He said: “I have found a groom <br />For that daughter of yours – <br />And I have renounced <br />My vow of celibacy.” <br /> <br />And when the startled mother <br />Sprouted perplexity, <br />He added distinctly: <br />“Don’t you worry. <br />I am that he.” <br />And thus he entered matrimony. <br />He preferred it now to celibacy, <br />For by what he had seen there <br />He had detected fair, <br />That she was the one <br />Who could make him <br />To himself aware, <br />That she was the one <br />Who could <br />Share his Dreams, <br />Bear his Burdens, <br />Care his Wounds, <br />Wear his Joys. <br />He had made a choice <br />In which even she did rejoice. <br />And thus indeed was signed <br />The deed of a noble partnership. <br />And our suffering society <br />Was so fortunate <br />To get as charity <br />The joyful profits <br />This blessed partnership reaped thereafter.<br /><br />Kannan G<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/d-baba-amte-1994-the-blessed-partnership/
