POEMS OF AVVAYYAR
R.
SUNDARESAN
(Translations
of some Tamil poems of Avvayar, the great Tamil
poetess)
Do
not expect
when will you be repaid
for the help you do to another;
does not the cocoanut tree
whose roots you feed with water
give you sweet milk
from its top?
The
tiger will only kill the doctor
who cures it of its disease;
the help you do to the unwise
is like a pot
thrown on a stony ground.
Do
not think
that the quiet-looking man is unintelligent;
like the stark
which waits patiently
for a fish to fall its prey
the quiet man knows
when he should exhibit his intelligence.
The
wise will not turn inimical
if you do them harm even till their death;
even if you go on cutting a tree
it grows and grows
and protects you
by giving shade.