FIRY BEING
DR
N. KRISHNA KUMARI
The
veil of darkness
Gathering
to its bosom the day's twilight
Descends
from heights beyond thought
Shipping around the four sides of the universe.
It
comes down closer and closer
Drunk
red and langerous
The
sky shivers
And
my heart is filled with tremours.
Even
the least traces of light cannot miss
The
passionate bite of Evening kiss
Their
flaming imprints
Burn
the sky within my heart.
These
are red ‘Bandhuka’ flowers
Scentless
and unfelt
Nevertheless
my mind, a beetle
Wheels around these flaming buds.
The
greenish house lizard with scarlet tail
Creeps
and stirs within me
Innumerable
tiny red scorpions
Move
briskly all over my mind
With
tails raised
Like question marks.
In
my eyes no blossoms of desire
In
my heart no rainbow of hope
Neither
the twinkling stars of eagerness
And
because
I
do not know what I want
And
formless remains the shape of my desire
This
mischievous play of
Evening’s
blue fire
Singing
over my consciousness
Can only fill me with fear.
–Translated
from Telugu by R. S. SUDARSANAM