Translated from the Tamil by Rajesh Subramanian
1.
You’ve been enquiring unendingly
during our phone conversations
if you had left behind anything here
when had you moved to your new place.
While my overflowing desire forces me to tell you
a lingering fear dampens me from revealing
that all that you had left behind was yourself.
2.
The partial unripe moon, and
the fully grown drum-stick plant;
The cold rain drops that fall unannounced
and the mid-night sky;
The hero-stones, and
the mumbling dog that has no place to go –
This night that you are not with me
Together listen attentively along with me
the pervasive loud rustle of the fallen dry leaves.
3.
This was the way
the gentle breeze had traversed.
Thousands of eyes had glanced
at the clusters of blooming yellow orleans,
and then moved on.
A sunbird was heartily courting a newly blossomed bud
feasting on its nectar.
As I stood there witnessing in silence,
you gently crossed by
throwing a smile, which is now thirty years old.
About the Author
Thanges (Thangeswaran) is a noted Tamil poet and author, with several published collections to his credit. He currently serves as a head-master in a school in Tamil Nadu.
About the Translator
Rajesh Subramanian is a literary translator and editor of two online literary magazines.
www.modernliterature.org / www.tamilliterature.in
