What Boldness Is This of Mine

On that day, when life first emerged
from a mere embryo or a single drop of blood,
the date of my return was inscribed on fate’s brow.
That very day, I too signed
the contract to return.
I had no understanding then, no sense at all
that beyond the tiny home of the womb,
such a vast and varied world could exist!
When I first opened my eyes
to the light, the air, the colours,
the beauty and rhythm of the world,
I was struck with wonder—
from the water-filled dark to this realm of light—
what a marvellous, enchanting place!
What a powerful, binding allure!
As I came into this brief life
after my allotted ten months,
so, too I must one day go,
within the margins of my given years,
to the line marking my final journey,
adorned in pure white, in attar and incense.
Death is not an end, not a destruction,
but a means, a passage,
to a permanent home,
to unite with the Everlasting.
Did I ever wonder, in that dark womb,
who breathed life into that formless blood?
Who granted breath and sustenance to this life?
Where did I come from? Where am I bound to return?
No, I never thought of it…
A self-centred, ungrateful soul I am.
To the One who holds the universe,
Creator of galaxies and billions of stars,
the One whose grace allows my humble existence,
I deny Him in arrogance,
I reject Him in pride!
Alas! What is this daring!
What boldness is this of mine…