AVANTSA SOMASUNDER
Though the poverty is dancing ferociously
At least the fresh rays of dawn
Lend some solace
Therefore, the day passes along somehow
Mutual affections, throwing lovely rays
Fill the heart with cool breezes
And soothe the self
So, the day can be spent somehow;
Though miserably.
The Sun anointing with silver light
Shines up there in the sky
Aiding the underdogs below
Hence, the day proceeds
However dreadful and
cursing.
But, alas, now–
When some unknown malignant forces.
Have ghastly murdered the Sun,
In the shadowy corner
Beyond the western mountain,
Ah, there’s a heart-shaking pool of blood
In the western mountain slopes
And fearful stains of blood
All over the cheeks of the world!
All my hopes encountered
This inhuman edge of a twilight
Gleaming like a flame of the funeral pile.
When the shades of dusk
Are still loitering in the threshold
Of the sweetness of life
I cried trembling with fear
That the prison of this night
Tortures me as a captive!
(Translated from the original Telugu by N. R. Thapaswy)