The Maker of Hindu Deities & Kabir

Happy Deepavali to all. In celebration, set out below is a poem from Kabir, a fascinating poet and religious leader.

I Won't Come

I won’t come
I won’t go
I won’t live
I won’t die

I’ll keep uttering
The name
And lose myself
In it

I’m bowl
And I’m platter
I’m man
And I’m woman

I’m grapefruit
And I’m sweet lime
I’m Hindu
And I’m Muslim

I’m fish
And I’m net
I’m fisherman
And I’m time

I’m nothing
Says Kabir
I’m not among the living
Or the dead

Kabir
Trans. from the Hindi by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra who writes of a story:

"... after he died both Hindus and Muslims laid claim to his body. A quarrel broke out but when they lifted the shroud they saw instead of the corpse a heap of flowers. The two communities divided the flowers and performed Kabir’s last rites, each according to its custom."

Source: Poetry (March 2011) & Poetry Foundation