Friday, February 19, 2016

Sleepless


You illuminated my sleep 
with your memories,
and made the minutes of those sleepless hours
the switches to turn off the light.


OK... So, there may not be a parallel, but then the fact is that this post is certainly an inspiration of the following verses in the song, 'Thalli pogathey' from Acham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada...

Nagarum... nodigal...
Thasaiadi pole
Mudhugin mela
Vizhuvadhinale...
Vari vari kavidhai.


And my attempt to translate just that bit, an impromptu one...

The ticking seconds lash my flesh.
It pares the skin over my spine.
And so...
I write these streaks of verses.

Thanks to lyricist Thamarai for her beautiful verses!


Thursday, February 11, 2016

Euphoria

You are the...

Thought—
the first one in my mindafter the sun blooms.

Smile
that creeps amidst the dispirited chores.

Sensation
that my feet feels on the beach.

Rhythm
in my spirited morning run.

Reason
for the verses in my poem.

Music
that I decide to play in loop.

Memory
that fills all my senses.

Feeling
when I talk to a long-seen best friend.

Euphoria
that the music I looped creates in my mind.


Saturday, February 06, 2016

Translation of Mazhai Vara Pogudhe from Yennai Arinthal

There she comes, the rain.
And now, she begins to shower.
Would it do to not get soaked?

The flower garden is closing in.
And now, the place is oozing with charm.
Would it do to not get lost?

My heart floats
like the cloud-like soft cotton,
What do I do to redeem it?
I wonder to whom would it listen!

With her sea-like eyes 
she tranced me.
I have already gone lost,
and yet, it is all for good.

A bit on the fire, 
a bit on the river,
unsure and still, stands my heart.

With her dark eyes, 
the doe-eyed keeps stabbing me,
and yet,
the pain has such sweetness.

She asks me to live in,
in her dimpled cheek.
What a priceless boon
for a lifetime!

She dropped by when the moon slept in the clouds, 
and I was drawn deep in my dreams.
And yet, when she left, 
she never bothered to caress me.

The eyes would not shut
and the sleep would not arrive.
She named it love,
and blessed me abundantly with it.

She nears, and my heart goes ahead.
She goes, and my heart goes behind...
My heart! You are so stuffed with her memories.

Keep the eyes of the butterfly shut,
and yet, it still reaches the flower.
What about the rain?
It does have to reach the earth.

Where you stand, 
there reaches my eyes.
I am so fixated that you walk back and forth, 
and my heart just keeps vacillating merrily.

You... 
are the swaying peacock,
with your tail on my shoulders...
I would watch it trail by, 
all my life.