A Renunciation Poem by Rajesh Thankappan

A holy man once said:

I have renounced all earthly desires
All those things that a man commonly aspire,
Power, possessions, friends and even my family
All of which I once had guarded so jealously.

I now roam the world like a true wanderer
And weather the elements even without a regular shelter,
Yet I am happy to jettison all of my desires
And seek contentment in this sagely attire.

A layman on hearing this said:

Your holiness, I revere the choice that you have made
The apple of desire that you so assiduously evade,
But tell me, your holiness, how can you be bereft of all desires
When besotted with the ‘desire' to forsake all desires?