Translated by Vijay
Paintbrush
Have you finished painting?
Alright.
Now,
clean the brush
immaculately.
Its soft bristles –
stroke and clean
very gently,
unspoiled.
Watch out.
The residual colors –
they’d spoil the brush.
That gleamingly cleansed brush of yours –
its acute tip
being in an eternal upright space,
not tumbling down the earth,
stow it here,
in a pot.
*****
Transcendence
A raft when in motion
An island, only when not.
The raft and the island
only a lightning flash away.
Sky
wide-contoured
Arm strength
of the raftman
like a column
Wind
nerve-wrenching
shaking the heart as the topsail
Secrets
from the deep ocean
flustering
They enkindle self-forgetfulness.
*****
Sparrow-nest
The house, occupying the land,
as reparation,
gave a terrace.
The tree, taking up only a couple of paces,
grew tall, and
canopied love.
As a sparrow-nest that dawdle
along with that tree branch,
the terrace, where I was sitting,
dawdled.
*****
No Tree In Sight
A tree shade is enough.
I shall leave you there, unafraid.
My heart cannot bear you standing under the sky.
Further, you look beautiful
only when you stand under a tree.
I’d like to leave you under the tree shade
as would an expectant woman
be sheltered with her mother.
The motherhood of trees,
the breeze from the branches
with lobes of fruits –
they will embosom your hair locks.
The tree will show you the birds,
the birds will show you the sky and islands, and
the sky, everything.
A tree shade is needed.
*****
He And I, And A Flower
On a landscape where there could flow
streams and storms galore,
while I was standing as a flame,
tiny and lonely,
he was bringing the sea rowing a small oar.
On a deer-leaping meadow,
a snake slithered like a footpath.
The deer wailed and fell,
as a scar of the meadow.
In the hands
of that man who was walking
with his feet above the ground,
I saw a flower.
Bloomed from earthen fingers,
it was diffusing blood scent.
*****
The Figure Of A Tree
The tree was minting a jewel
for its neck
shedding its golden leaves.
When it said that
the land that I thought was its paw
was its neck,
a killing-embarrassment
grasped me.
*****
A Seat In Mid Air
Suppu was sitting on a stool,
merely.
Kuppu paced in, and said
I need the stool, need it.
Suppu paid no heed.
He was sitting,
merely.
Kuppu repeatedly said
I need the stool, need it.
Suppu paid no heed.
He was sitting,
merely.
Kuppu pulled the stool in an instant;
he took it away.
Suppu was sitting just as he was;
No stool underneath.
*****
Direction
The tree
outstretching its hands
felt disappointed
Fruits were borne
by its chest itself
*****
Renunciation
What do the clouds let go off
rising from the sea
to acquire lightness?
An earth
that is going to be rainful