Vaakhs of Lalleshvari | Kashmiri Poetess

I wore myself out, looking for myself.
No one could have worked harder to break the code.
I lost myself in myself and found a wine cellar. Nectar, I tell you.
There were jars and jars of the good stuff, and no one to drink it.

I saw a sage starving to death, a leaf floating to earth
on a winter breeze. I saw a fool beating his cook.
And now I’m waiting for someone to cut
the love cord that keeps me tied to this crazy world.

About the Poetess

Lalla Ded, also known as Lal Ded or Lalleshvari, (flourished 14th century CE), was a Hindu poet-saint from Kashmir, who defied social convention in her search for God.

Legend tells of the harsh treatment Lalla Ded received from her husband and mother-in-law and extols her patience and forbearance. Twelve years after being wed, she left her home in order to dedicate herself to Shiva and became a wandering religious singer. Her poems and songs concern the longing for God and the joy she finds in the deity who lives within.