In all its creed,
The unknown desert lies
At my feet.
Why was I destined
To be here?
Have I come to
Follow and enact
My dreams!
See and consume Lord’s Glory?

 

The wasteland flows
Like water waves...
So do perplexing images
Before my eyes.
I see nearer and nearer,
Bedouins pursuing the shadow
Of someone strange and daring.
Though it is all out of context,
Yet, it makes sense to me.

 

As I stand on shifting sands,
Trusting my traversing days...
My life tests the power
Of my strength.
Where else will it take me?
So far away, whisked
From my native soil!
Still, nothing appears alien
To me.

 

Dubai
1996

                          

Geeta Chhabra

 

From the book: An Indian Ode To The Emirates by Geeta Chhabra