SLEEP
INDIRA SANT
Translated from Marathi by Shrikant
Tambe
Neatly to arrange mosquito net, quilt
Make things serviceable
And in the subdued light by the pillow
To reach a different world
While turning leaf after leaf over....
To return some time after by habit
And sip unhurried draught after draught
Of strong black coffee. Of a tumbler full of sleep
As bitter as sweet.
Each draught with a different taste:
Of deep content. Of unbearable agony, pain.
Of a tribute of dreams.
Of the difficult tarana of the
future
And at times, of the misty moon
Swiftly running through cloudy sky.