Monday, May 11, 2009

In Each Other's Arms (Subramanya Bharathi)

Thou to me the flowing Light
And I to thee discerning sight;
Honied blossom thou to me,
Bee enchanted I to thee;
O Heavenly Lamp with shining ray,
O Krishna,Love,O nectar-spray
With falt'ring tongue and words that pant
Thy glories here I strive to chant

Thou to me the harp of gold
And I to thee the finger bold;
Necklace shining thou to me
New-set diamond I to thee;
O mighty queen with splendour rife
O Krishna,Love,O well of life,
Thine eyes do shed their light on all
Wherev'r turn,their beams do fall

Rain that singeth thou to me;
Peacock dancing I to thee;
Thou to me the juice of grape
And I to thee the cup agape;
O spotless Beauty,Krishna bright,
Perennial fount of deep delight,
O Love,thy face hath grace divine
For there the deathless Truth doth shine

Silver moonlight thou to me,
Exulting Ocean I to thee,
Thou the basic harmony
And I the song that moveth free;
Dear as eyesight,Krishna,mine,
O Massed-up,sweet,immortal wine
Unceasing yearns my mind to scan
Thy endless charm,but never can

Inlaid perfume thou to me,
Petalled blossom I to thee,
Thou to me the Inner Thought
And I to thee the word it wrought;
O honeyed Hope,O Krishna fair,
O Joy,O'er flowing everywhere,
O Star of love,do teach me,pray,
To sing thy praise in fitting lay

Deep Attraction thou to me
Living magnet I to thee,
Thou to me the Veda pure
And I to thee the Knowledge sure;
Voice vibrant of the world's desire
O Krishna Love all-quickening fire,
In utter stillness here i see
Thy face that yieldeth ecstasy

As life to Pulse and gold to rings,
As star to planet,soul to things,
So Krishna,Love,art thou to me;
Thou,the force,I Victory
And all the joys of Heaven and Earth
In thee,O Krishna,have their birth
Ethereal glory,endless Might
O Heart of Mine,O Light,O Light!

6 comments:

  1. An English translation by the great Tamil poet, Subramanya Bharathi, of his own poem (Kannamma en Kaadhali)... speaks so much of the greatness of the man, that he can express himself just as beautifully even in English... :-)

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  2. I am astounded , by this revelation, that the poem is Bharathi's own translation in English of "kannamma en kathali 2" (paayum oLi...)as much as I am astounded your own poems!
    I may have to be an oftener visitor here than I thought earlier!
    I am not sure if I posted it earlier. just wanted to say your poems are GOOD.Whether the lines should rhyme or not is a matter for refinement.many people today write poems almost indistinguishable from prose!The so called blank verse..... It has its strong points. Spontaneity for one. Emphasis on content over form is another.

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  3. Thank you Venky periappa... I do realise there's a lot more that I need to know, before I can call myself a 'good' poet... Writing in rhyme is tough, and very often I have to choose a 'lesser' word just because it rhymes... But thats something I want to master some day ... :-) ... My first poem, 'Awaiting the Mahatma' is something I wrote in the blank verse form,and I also tried a different method, where the last line of 2 different stanzas rhyme, in 'Dilemma'... Hopefully, I'll get better with time... :-)

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  4. Sorry. Its quite a while since I visited this site! Truth is, I forgot where I had posted this comment.Now I get it.
    I will see your other poems and then offer my
    wisdom!

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  5. What you said about Mahatma , reminded me of a verse I had ventured to compose way back in 1990! ( I wrote a total of 5 poems in a span of two years.) will share it if I find them .One was published in our in house magazine called RAILWAYMAN.
    But its about you now.I wrote a comment on Lamentation but cant find the post now!.More later. I expect to see more after you settle down in your more mundane pursuits!.

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  6. Oh I'd love to read them,I'm waiting... :D
    About lamentations, I didn't delete any comment, so I guess you must have forgotten to click on 'Post Comment' after typing the comment... Do post it again if you remember what you had said... :)

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