The first day
God came face to face
Spring, in front of the tree
That had forgotten roots and leaves
The slender note of complaint
Made to its friends
By the cloud that got lost
The goddess’ voice
Unheard by any but water
The flower garden
In front of which
Grass grows with abandon
The darkened house
With cowdung – smeared floor
A cluster of moments
Of butterflies cavorting in the rain
The playhouse
Made of the wings of fireflies and moths
The seaside
Where camels enjoy the breeze
The forgotten oyster
The fry left
Under the sand
The praying hands
Of date palms
Which look upon earth from above
The wedding night
Inside the elephant shelter
Where ants frolic
A pinch of beaten rice,
Cooked, using only the twigs the pigeons bring
The anthology of words
Read and re-read
In a hand-written letter
The translation of the moment
God couldn’t quite get
what could it have been?
Covered daughter with kisses..
She wept, alarmed
I heard the voice of God telling daughter,
” I didn’t understand anything either!”
Oct 3, 2013
Oct 3, 2013 at 1:42 AM UTC
The first day
God came face to face
Spring, in front of the tree
That had forgotten roots and leaves
The slender note of complaint
Made to its friends
By the cloud that got lost
The goddess’ voice
Unheard by any but water
The flower garden
In front of which
Grass grows with abandon
The darkened house
With cowdung – smeared floor
A cluster of moments
Of butterflies cavorting in the rain
The playhouse
Made of the wings of fireflies and moths
The seaside
Where camels enjoy the breeze
The forgotten oyster
The fry left
Under the sand
The praying hands
Of date palms
Which look upon earth from above
The wedding night
Inside the elephant shelter
Where ants frolic
A pinch of beaten rice,
Cooked, using only the twigs the pigeons bring
The anthology of words
Read and re-read
In a hand-written letter
The translation of the moment
God couldn’t quite get
what could it have been?
Covered daughter with kisses..
She wept, alarmed
I heard the voice of God telling daughter,
” I didn’t understand anything either!”
(trans from Malayalam by Anitha Varma)
