Oh God, there's no mistake!

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.” ~