A holy dip in Ganga,
that began with reluctance,
ended with funeral pyres
met with no resistance
for the acceptance
of truth – momentarily
the emotions of transcendence
overpowered the hazy intellect
soaked out and out in worldly glimmers.
Cans of caffeine, jokes on sex, lemon tea
on the ghats of Kashi
and riding back home amidst dense fog –
memories will clog,
forever,
the wisdom is long-gone!
A poem by
Alok Mishra
(recapitulating the visit to Varanasi (Kashi) in the end of December 2021)