I don’t need a God
who can provide a release
from the cycle of births!
I want a God
who can
free me from railway timetables
restrain the blood racing
at traffic signals,
stop time from being
dragged away in a jumbo jet,
chastise the emptiness
seeking relief in
radio and television,
keep me away in the morning
from truth-cloaked news,
and stop me from being
sold off cheap in ads.
I want
a God who . . .
Translated from the Gujarati by Pradip N. Khandwalla