A PAIR OF GLASSES

It’s with glasses
In front of my eyes and on my nose
That I see the world.
 
I need glasses
To see my neighbour and washerman and postman
To see that Radha and Krishna walking along the road
Or to see Radha as Radha
And Krishna as Krishna.
 
Glasses are the door
Through which I talk to a stranger, a guest
And a friend.
Through the glass I speak
To children, flowers,
And to God.
 
Glasses for my daydreams,
And for my cradle-songs.
For my unspoken word
And unsung song.
Glasses.
Glasses for me.
 
In my childhood
I had no glasses.
All great men wear glasses.
All wearers of glasses are great.
The textbook Gandhiji
The cane-wielding math teacher,
And the postman Appunni.
Or, for that matter
Behind every pair of glasses that are taken off –
A great man.
 
In my childhood I had no glasses.
Like a halo
For gods and prophets
Like the scholar’s baldness
Or the potbelly of the prosperous,
Today,
I also have a pair of glasses.

A PAIR OF GLASSES