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| Anjana Verma |
Words
-- Anjana Verma( Translated from Hindi by Shefalika Kumar, title of the poem 'Shabd')
There were a few words
Made of clay
Heavy and unattractive
Perhaps repulsive too
After all in todays world
Who likes dusty objects made of clay ?
So they stood rejected
And a few other words, beautiful and shiny
Were so attractive
They drew you like a magnet
Strings made of shiny weren't scarce
Everyone tossed them around your neck
And offered flights of fancy
That touched the high skies
And whenever people flew
On the winged chariots of shiny words
Dull words stayed planted
With bent backs
Worried, waiting for them to return
To hold and protect from the fall
Enchanters oj wned a treasure of bright words
And had launched flights for poor folks
With full swing
Those whose nights have never seen dreams
Now travelled to wonderland
Sprouting wings on the back of poor
was now their forte.
And here these words
Like a mother brown and plain
Always fretted and stayed ready
To be the speed of their feet
Or a silent staue
But they could never be
That which never exists
*****
A Glimpse
-- Anjana Verma( Translated by Shefalika Kumar from Hindi - title of the poem 'Jhalak' )
When I did not meet you
I was the most powerful human being
I was the most beautiful creature
I was dressed in the purest robe
But since I have met you
I know I am fragile
I know I am ugly
I see the black spots on my robe
Because your glimpse
gave me a pair of eyes
*****
