Arjuna

Many times-- in fact, almost every night, I wake up past midnight and, through the window, I always see that one bright star. I wrote the following poem with reference to this experience:

Past midnight, gazing at a lone bright star,
I name it Arjuna.
From the distant plains of Kurukshetra,
his cry echoes:
where is joy in the killing of men?

Let me explain a little bit. Arjuna is a character in the Bhagavad-Gita or the Song of God. The poem above refers to that opening scene in the Bhagavad-Gita, where Arjuna is having a conversation with Krishna, before warring armies, who are related in blood, engaged in the field of Kurukshetra. Arjuna posed a question which is very much relevant to post-modern times, in these days of terrorism and preemptive war.

Now, read this: one night, I saw the same (or I think the same) bright star. I just looked at it. Then, moments later, the star seemed as if it was withdrawing... until it's gone.