How do you

Kabir 1440 (Banaras) – 1518 (Maghar)



How do you,
Asks the chief of police,
Patrol a city
Where the butcher shops
Are guarded by vultures;
Where bulls get pregnant,
Cows are barren,
And calves give milk
Three times a day;
Where mice are boatmen
And tomcats the boats
They row;
Where frogs keep snakes
As watchdogs,
And jackals
Go after lions?

Does anyone know
What I’m talking about?
Says Kabir.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

19 sec read
126

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXXXXBXXBXCXXAX CXC
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 349
Words 66
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 16, 3

Kabir

Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The name Kabir comes from Arabic al-Kabīr which means 'The Great' – the 37th name of God in Islam. Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir Panth, a religious community that recognizes him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9,600,000. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census. His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar. more…

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    "How do you" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/24766/how-do-you>.

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