Wednesday, June 1, 2016

SREEDEVI K


SREEDEVI K

LIGHTNING
O for a page of cloud
to record the agonies of my heart
as my dreary life drags on
sheltering under a drab grey sky

O for a silver of moonlight
to enshroud my flickering flesh
O for a chalice of raindrops
to wash away my flowing tears

O for a single tinge of rainbow colour
to brighten my shadow dark dreams
O for the radiance of the shimmering stars
to add sparkle to my weary eyes

O for peal after peal of thunder
to partner my pounding heart
O for half the light of the new moon
a blanket enwrapping my slumber

O for a flash of lightning
to burn me to ashes
Have mercy,O leaden sky, Have mercy
on one without dreams,without desire,without hope
(translated by Indira Punnoose)



A LONGED FOR JOURNEY
I doze in the song of a speeding train
always and only one wish
that the train never stops or pauses
and I alone the solitary traveller

summer, winter, fall, rain
I enjoy the cyclic seasons through the window
the Stygian darkness enshrouding my past
the anguish of my cruel present
the shattering of all future hopes
my desperate angst are pieces of luggage
I no longer carry

the hurry and scurry of the crowd in the pavement
the soft calls of love that follow me
none shall hinder my onward journey

in the pitch dark of the dense forest
the quiet silence of the barren desert
the faraway undiscovered island
the great lonely mountain ranges
where none can follow me

nowhere must my train stop
or even slow down its fierce speed
(translated by Indira Punnoose)




SPIRIT OF POESY
In which abyss of darkness
do you hide
O Goddess
O radiant muse of poetry?

Even in my sleep
my heart longs to hear
the alluring tinkle
of  your anklets
in all of life's journeys
I exhaust myself searching
for you-only for you

Have you vanished into
the waters of the Nila?
or dozed off in the arms of
the tender moonlight?
or unknown to me
are you hiding in silent meditation
in the depth of my own heart?
In which bamboo flute
have you locked up your life-giving song
O lovely one

Come as the rain clouds
to unfurl my imagination of peacock feathers and dance
O come, come quickly
why this delay?

While i wait
with sad strains of music
on the outskirts of my fancy
straining for the sound of your footsteps

With gilded dress
with saffron decorated forehead
with jasmine entwined tresses
with gentle breeze playing a
bewitching song on your anklets
as a flash of lightning you appear
and stand shyly before me

I awake
I call out
But you retreat
without heeding me
(translated by Indira Punnoose)
SREEDEVI K

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