Poems of Aduri Satyavathi Devi

Poem-27

A Dash of Exquisite Beauty

Telugu Original: Aduri Satyavathi Devi

English Translation: NS Murthy

Hemmed between the ethereal and the mundane,
Gasping for breath in the apartments,
And wandering through the currents of civilization
Like an ant-head,
For once, one evening,
After looking at the scintillating browny sun on the occidental sky
I slipped into my cherished memories’ album.

On the meadow canvas of my mind
One memory, still green, shakes off
And takes off like a kite…
Hovering over the known and unknown terrain, exhausted,
Settles ultimately on a string of impressive experiences.

Sitting me on the bed of branches, rollicking,
Bathes me in showers of nectar of soft, delicate flowers.
The wing touches me ever so gently
And sneaking under my eyelids
Leaves me in a world of magical realism.

My childhood
Which capered around my village like a belled calf,
Becomes a sugar lump near Basil plant this moment,
And on the next becomes
A salivating holy Sagittarian-month’s offering
On a banana leaf.
For a while, moments of my dabbling with the classics
Appeara fresh leaving indent on my memory.
As if sieged by my childhood pals
I enter my village, choked with emotion
In a new frame of mind.
Velvet green fanning branches,
Pageants of birds doing aerobatics,
The sly-eyed watery ways,
The dense lotus pond,
And gold-panicled rice fields…
Like a ripple, nay, an eternal stream, they stay within me.
Whenever my village comes to my mind
I forget myself … recalling her exquisite beauty.

*****

Telugu Original :‘Soundarya Lahari’

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