The vial is empty
every drop of the elixir has been taken.
The sword is back to the sheath,
There is nothing that stops the river on her way.
She no longer rushes in a hurry.
She has arrived near the pilgrim's shrine;
it's just a mile away.

She is at the road's end;
She can hear her home calling.
The bells are ringing in the sanctuary.

Time for the river to enter the sea.
It's on a plateau now,
No more downfalls, no more gorges
no more narrow impatient passes.
The river is nearing the sea
That far only, up to that point
where you see an onward wave, a forward surge,
and yonder the serenity of the sea.
The river will be then the sea of oblivion.

Her sorrows were those she saw on her banks;
her joys were those of the people she met and laughed with.
The sea has a place for all of her former life, her earthly identity.
The momentum in water marks the end of the river;
the point where you see the end of the speed is the beginning of the sea;
but the sea will not be alone.
the ending of the river has enriched the sea.

Sushama Karnik
Jun 29, 2016

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