The Atonements

There lives a woman in the West of Arira To whom life denied the rights to live The woman alive, but short of living The life, like periwinkle shuts its doors The troubles her children will inherit To an elderly she sought answers to her odds Why has life been unfavourable to her? Why must life be ungrateful to her deeds? In love, in arms, indeed, in honest she gave But life, her toils unrewarded. The elderly in deep voice and candour Experience and in wisdom he replied: “Basirat”, he said. “Life has been your friend In your life denied was life given From you, life sought its grace, woman. To whom everything is given, everything denied In thinking, so is interpretation, what you see In what you see shall you be, your dreams For in the shadow of life a man lives You are in agreement with the unknown But you are the known, woman For in you, the birth to life comes, In what you see lives the unseen. The unseen is what you have. Woman, that, in you; is what you are seeking That which is not lost! When shadow is at the back, in front you are That is when you are the receiver But when the shadow is in front, you at its back That is when you are the seeker Life, I said, is your friend The love you gave is the hate you gave To him whose love returns in hate by you in past The arms you gave was the favour you denied Him that sought favour in the past The honesty is returned in favour of your dishonesty The one you gave to the honest in the past The good of your deeds is nothing But, atonements of opposites given in the past But cry not of the present sufferings Life will give back in atonement That, which life has denied your today.” And Basirat believed the elderly And in hope, she did await, life atonement.