“Grandmother, I’m going to major in German so I can study theology.”
“Why? English was good enough for Jesus.”
Steve Cooper, 32, unemployed and living in a tiny flat in Tooting, England
when Indian friends declared him the image and likeness
of the Hindu saint Bahucharaji, templed in Gujarat,
patron of eunuchs and the infertile.
In a tiny flat in Tooting, England, where Cooper never felt at home, some friends
gave Steve’s life purpose, for which he moved from Tooting to Gujarat,
temple-home of the Hindu saint of eunuchs, who makes the infertile bear.
Crowds gathered, so he blessed them, a profession gentler than the law.
Having been given purpose and made the move to Gujarat,
Steve became “Pamela” to himself, “Prema” to worshippers, living among the eunuchs.
Crowds gathered for his blessing profess themselves gentled by his hands.
So the failed lawyer wears saffron and offers Divine Love in a language he can’t speak
yet. He became Prema (Divine Love) and lives among the temple’s 80 eunuchs,
some of whom doubt his authenticity. He says he feels at home,
the failed prosecutor/defender from Tooting, in a saffron sari, offering Love in a new language.
It’s good to have friends who can see a saint in your face and the inclination of your body.
Devon Miller-Duggan has published poems in Rattle, Shenandoah, Margie, Christianity and Literature, and Gargoyle. She teaches creative writing at the University of Delaware. Her books include Pinning the Bird to the Wall (2008), Neither Prayer, Nor Bird (2013), and Alphabet Year (2017).