Meeting God………

Legs marching fast
Lungs stretching soon
Panting and puffing
I walked to meet God at worship
O! My God!
I was late by ten minutes.

As streetlights stared at
Persons walking by
A dim voice aired
‘Excuse me’
voice unchanging my pace
steps stretched longer, sooner

While sitting in the Church
An inner voice surfaced
‘Why have you come?’
‘To meet my God’, I responded.
‘You were late, I came to meet you
You didn’t mind me ’ inner voice said.

When, How come, Lord?
“Excuse me’, I said on the way
You’re swift enough to unanswer the plea”
Lord, were you that person?
In pant, shirt and bag on the shoulder.
Assumedly stopping for money?

‘How strange are you God?
I couldn’t meet you’ I complained.
Strange? Am I? -Or
You to one another? The voice quizzed.
My knees touched the ground
Tears kissed the cheek
Heart whispered, “Amen”

j. john britto xavier

A debate

Our covered body
Carry stitched clothes
We are frightened to walk the streets
Some wave currency for pleasure
Yes, we are destitute
Not prostitute
Can you correct your contact number?
Clad torn clothes
Lest-covered body
They walk the ramp
They pay them handsomely
Called to expose now and then
They are miss world
We miss the world……..
j.john britto xavier

Discovery…….

In the laughter of the marginalized
I discover ‘the face of God’…….
In the cry of heaven
I discover ‘the hard work of farmers’……
In the edge of prosperity (pain)
I discover ‘the value of perspiration’
In the last leap before fall
I’m aware of God’s helping hand…….
In God’s call
I discover ‘Who I am’……

j.john britto xavier

Slumdog millionaire….

O! Heaven
How can we thank you?
Our difficulty melt your heart
You shed tears for us
Along with loud noise
Your sweet-sorrow very tasty
They freshen our faces
Thanks from Slumdog millionaire……
Heed our plea too
Cry not violently, increasingly….
Your unceasing tears may halt our livelihood
Our huts would float in flood
You know us, Slumdog millionaire…….

j.john britto xavier

Politician and Beggar

A hot-debate
Politicians, beggars contest….
Politician proclaimed his magic claims.
A beggar lifted his voice
Interrogated the audience
‘in what way we are mean
We beg you have our stomach filled?
In what way they are great
They beg your vote have their accounts filled?
We beg you on daily basis
Depended on your charity
They beg you once in 5 years
Make you beggars then-after’
Who mean? Who great?

‘I’ specialist

A desperate-soul
Departed for a day-out
Found a person under a tree
Sat near him in silence,
Reading the sad-lines on my face,
the person asked, ‘how are you?’,
these often heard words today in true sense.
I responded, ‘I do so much of work, earn a lot,
have everything I desire to, but happiness eludes me’
S/he smiled graciously, ‘You are an ‘I’ specialist,
You do things, have things,….spot-light on ‘I, Me, My self’
‘Allow God to act in you.’ ‘Look at the lilies of the
field, birds of the air, sun, moon, stars,….all praise God in all that they do’
‘awake soul, praise God for what you are
Shed the selfishness, give yourself’
I listened........

j.john britto xavier

Child(ish)-talk (2)

Mother,
I scrawl all the alphabets I know
In the paper,
You join them. Read them,
Understand them.
They win smile on your face.
I win a kiss on my cheek
You are so good!

I found father scribbling on
Paper-after-paper
I do not fathom them.
I hope neither you do.
He wins laurels
People call him ‘poet of the time’
How strange a world!

j.john britto xavier

Child(ish)-talk(1)

Mother,
as a child I said few words or no words
You understood and met all my needs
Today, I say so much
I feel neither understood nor corrected
Have we grown old, mom?

j.john britto xavier

Speaking-tree

Wanderers of the world
Walked by my way
Weird, tired tread
Wished a chill-out stay……

Leaning on my shoulders
Listed their stories
Listening to their folders
Lyrics of ‘practical theories’……

Soothing them in the shadow
Spoke to them in silence
Surrendered on my bow
Slept child-like in no violence……..

S/he sets journey out
With the rising sun
One keeps it on to
Emerge in the setting sun……

Walk on baby…..
I am everywhere to listen to……..

Silence-talk

We sat facing one another
Our eyes meeting
Hearts chatting
Uttered no words
Understood every word untold…….then

We threw words at each other
Our throats choked, lack of pause
Hands spoke
We muttered so much about one another
Listened to no word missiled……….now

j.john britto xavier

‘Just for a minute’

I remember when I was a child,
my mother held my hands, said in serene-tune
‘Son, do not be so busy ever, that you can’t
remember God ‘just for a minute’

When I started going to school,
played with the children on the street jubilantly,
fighting small-fights, doing summersault in the pond,
I remembered God even if it is ‘just for a minute’

Now it is a sort of habit I’ve got.
Wherever I go, whatever I do,
however busy I may be, I remember God to thank even if it is ‘just for a minute’

On a fine day, ‘I asked God, do you remember me?
To my surprise God said, ‘I remember you just every minute’

j.john britto xavier

'Cains' updated.....

On his way back home
God spotted a café, got in to log in
Complaint-filled ‘inbox’
from every end of the earth, disheartened God.
God said, ‘O! human beings, What have you done?
The cry of deforested land
knocks at my door
The contaminated water
cries for a fresh breath
The Ozone layer calls for ‘fast recovery’
No escape for endangered entity?’
‘O! So-called first worlds
Are the third-worlds your dumping ground?
Why your carbon footprints so large in other’s land?
Don’t you hear the cry of small Islands in your heated rooms?
You love things and use people!
live to consume? When’ll you live to love?’
Hurt human beings scraped, ‘Are we keepers of the everything?
Are we keepers of the third worlds’
God replied, ‘You, Cains updated. That’s you are.
Mind-the-gap and get-connected in the four-fold relationship
Live in love with yourself, neighbors, nature and ME’

right here or out there......

A common question confronted me,
“Where is God?”
Questioning mind googled for answer
Some claimed “right here”, others hoped, ‘Out there”
Confused heart needed clarification
at the feet of an experienced person
I quizzed, ‘Sir, is God right here or out there”
He said, “God is everywhere”
There is no ‘either’ ‘or’ but ‘and’
I can affirm ‘God is with us’,
but can’t deny, ‘God’s presence out there’

j.john britto xavier

know and know not

O, God!
With You
What is impossible
I know not…….

Without You
Nothing is possible
I know it…..

j.john britto xavier