A few hours since the
Little bundle arrived home.
The house is strewn with his possessions
A beenie here and a wet wipe there
A swaddle here and a burp cloth there.
He lords he rules
He commands and he reigns

Hates to be put down
He loves to be held and hug.
Not for him the best of cribs
Nor the cutest baby linens nor
The hanging bears
Two loving warm arms
Are all he cares.
Aren't all babies, kings of the world
When held thus?

It is night the parents are exhausted.
Asleep.
The house is dark, the ruler needs hugs
I pick him quietly bring him to my room
He wiggles and nestles in my arm.
Grants me the honor to
Please him for the next hour.

A shaft of light from the blinds
The eyes open my heart skips
They suddenly lock with mine
Like the brightest stars they shine.
I suddenly ask,
" Do I know you? Yes, I do.
I know you. Are you the one?
Where were you all these days?
Were you floating in some
Constellation
far away in another solar system?
Were you chasing a comet to the end
That is not there?"

He squirms and pulls the end of his mouth
A dimple flashes, of pinhead size
Then he demands to be entertained
It is I who should learn to make
His displeasure disappear.
I try lullabies in Kannada, be it off key.
And in languages i know
And even in languages i don't.

Why just me? The whole universe
Bows and bends before that bundle
It tries to move and jiggle
To make him giggle

He looks with half lids open
Not amused, we are.
Everything is such a bore
A lopsided yawn
Is all you have drawn
And the eyes are shut
Like headlights, put out

Am I hallucinating in my sleeplessness
Or did I just hear the universe hiss?
Did I see some milk flow
Did I spot
a banyan leaf float?

Bundle (Jayashree Jagannatha)