||Epilogue||

Radhika;

I have loved you and your Lord forever,

I have given myself in my poems at your lotus feet

I have held your hand

And tried to caress you.

Every syllable of this book I have imagined from your lotus lips

Here is one such bunch of syllables

From mine.

_____

My dearest Radhika

How could you?

I look at you

And I look at strength;

Unimaginable, unfathomable

Fortitude that cannot humanly be possessed

You proved the world wrong by possessing so.

Sweet Radha,

How did you?

You are the epitome of selflessness

Sacrifices, I've seen a lot of them

But you of all, sacrificed something that is

So incredibly hard to even have.

Love.

The light of your life

Sri Krishna

You selflessly gave way

For him to flourish

Even if it meant tarnishing your sweet name

Forever.

I bow down to you, o beloved of Hari

my obeisances to you, o queen of milkmaids

There cannot be a second Radha, ever

But if one even could be

A toenail of your entirety

Shall he, be liberated.

________________

I have mused infinitely before titling this section as Epilogue. Isn't that something which is reserved for prose alone? But amusingly enough, I have so much to say, so much to tell that I couldn't help myself naming it so.

An epilogue it is!

With the end of this book, a stream of bitter sweet emotions have engulfed me in their embrace. Happy to have completed so many poems, or as I like to call them, musings of the heart. Sad, for I feel like a big part of my life ended. 'Radha's Krishna' was not my book of poems. It is my very heart materialised in words.

Readers, I have no words remaining to express my immense gratitude for all the love. Your appreciation, the genuineness in them and the fact that you took out a few seconds to read my work, trust me, has been the fuel to keep me going. Hari knows how many second thoughts I've had, how many times I've coerced myself to think my poems aren't worthy of anyone's time. But as I sit here and type the epilogue to this book after 75 poems, I am glad I stuck by.

How can I not mention you, indeevara18ls ? You are the sister I (n)ever had. You are a living proof of how two souls living in two distinct parts of the world can come together to celebrate who they truly love. Krishna has joined us, we shall stay so for years to come! I love you for who you are, I love you for everything. Thank you. Thank you so much.

The forgetful girl that I am, I don't want to mention anyone specific for the ones closest to my heart, you know who you all are. I love you, every single one of you.

May the world bind us together in what Sri Hari has taught us since yugas- Love. For love gives, and gives alone.

And here I leave you, with a few lines from the Sri Radhika Ashtakam to ponder upon-

Kumkumakta-kancanabja-garva-hari-gaurabha

Pitanancitabja-gandha-kirti-nindi-saurabha

Ballavesha-sunu-sarva-vancitartha-sadhika

Mahyam-atma-pada-padma-dasya-dastu-Radhika

Her splendorous golden complexion steals the pride of a golden lotus flower anointed with a tinge of red kumkum paste. Her sweet fragrance mocks the fame of the aroma of a lotus flower sprinkled with saffron powder. She is fully qualified to fulfil all the desires of the son of the king of cowherd men. May Sri Radhika bestow upon me the service of Her own lotus feet.

Until we meet again,

S.