Oh God, there's no mistake!

Former Title: The Duhat and the Watermelon

Dr Abe V Rotor

                                      

Duhat or Java Plum (Syzygium cumini), Family Myrtaceae; and
pakwan or watermelon (Citrulus vulgaris), Family Cruciferae

Wearily I walked one summer day,
The sky was as the sea is blue.
And thought, “Water must be nearby.”
And so I walked on to where it lay –

A hill rose, a tree stood untold,
Old were its branches but full;
By measure of my thirst and hunger,
Its fruits were the sweetest of all.

With bare hands I cupped the manna,
And feasted on it with no choice,
Then laid down under the tree’s shade
Yearning still for a greater fill.

Thus I searched beyond for more gifts;
And on a crawling vine did appear
Big, big fruits, but bigger was my lust,
And I had my fill at last.

“A full stomach makes the head light,”
My father used to tell me then,
“From thoughts to dreams they go wild,
Seeking for other dreams.”

I dreamt I asked God something trivial -
Why so small are the duhat fruits;
And the watermelon, frail and crawling,
Bears the biggest fruit on earth.

“There must be some mistake,” I said
And waited for any response.
“There must be reason in faith,” I implored.
But only silence that I heard.

All of a sudden I woke up in a jolt,
A berry had fallen on my head,
Whether by Sir Newton’s law that it fell,
Or a Darwin’s finch came to tell.

I raised my hands to the sky and cried
In atonement and in praise,
“Oh God, Oh God, there’s no mistake,
There’s no mistake.” ~