He doesn’t know me
Neither do I, him
There is a lake between us
It is full of fish
Those fish are not his.
Neither are they mine.
The connection between us
Is that those fish do not
Belong to us
The fallen sky is still in the pond
I can see the fish diving through
The cloudy hillsides
There is no doubt that it is the fish
That stir the clouds however slightly be it
Are there fish that are undaunted by birds?
If you wish, peer into the sky in the pond
I kept wondering whether he was witnessing all this
Also, whether he comprehends my reflections
I couldn’t envisage what he saw in the pond
Neither did I have the time for it.
O, let him think whatsoever
He has a cigarette in his hand
That I too have a cigarette
Is another bond which we share
I feel that the fumes from my cigarette
And the clouds are friends
Isn’t that the reason I get vexed
About the clouds in the lake, floating, dead
His is not like that
One can see it in his face
He has no cares
He must be smoking to **** boredom
He is darker than I am
That too is a bond
But he doesn’t know
That I am actually fair
And that I am only pretending to be dark
Perhaps he was fair too once
Would he have got dark when his mother left him, forgotten?
I don’t think so; No, he is dark
The pond belonging to the clouds
The sky fell into
My smoke fumes that roam in the company
Of clouds
Me, who is not dark..
Translation : Anitha Varma