God Succour Them!
BY PERUM-PADUMANAR
(Translated from the Tamil by P. N. Appuswami)
[Note :-The hero and the lady elope, and seek to cross the desert. Other travelers in the desert will observe them and talk among themselves thus:]
A bowman with warrior-anklets on his feet;
A maid with bracelets on her arms
And tiny anklets tinkling on her tender feet.
Alas! Who are these good folk?
God succour them!
They intend to cross
The wild desert,–
Overgrown with bamboo,–
Where the white pods
Of the Vahai trees,
Tossing in the wind,
Rattle like the drum
Beaten at a rope-dance.
May God succour them!
(KURUM- TOKAI: 7)