Showing posts with label Swadesh Rana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swadesh Rana. Show all posts

Translation: Swadesh Rana (Poetry)

Swadesh Rana

UPON DRIED UP LEAVES

(English version by of Swadesh Rana's Hindi poem Sookhe Patte)

Upon dried up leaves beneath my feet.
For a silent stroll alone unto far.
Away from swarming, scattering thoughts.
I am longing now to walk beyond
A milestone I never saw before.

The earth and skies are meeting again
Not far from where I am already.
But my journey was long and steps are slower.
I am longing now for faster speed
To be held in the arms of an eager horizon.
Many a stories I keep recalling
Of darling damsels with irresistible airs.
Of fulfilled promises and shattering betrayals.
I am longing now to get adorned
For lovely loneliness as a companion.
With every moment accompanying me
To push ahead with brisker movement
And mileposts beckoning unseen miracles.
I am longing now to avert a tornado
Through an awareness drenched in heavy downpours.

My mendicant soul declines to guide
A wayward mind that pulls me away
From becoming a healer or a cuddler.
I am longing now to just deep breathe
Before leaving behind any alien aspirations.

For a silent stroll alone unto far.
Away from swarming, scattering thoughts.
I am longing now to walk upon.
The dried up leaves beneath my feet.

Swadesh Rana

Former Chief of the Conventional Arms Branch in the Department of Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations, Swadesh Rana has received several distinctions and honors for academic, literary and professional excellence. She has represented the United Nations at international events in over 40 countries.

A Presidential Gold Medalist in Political Science from Chandigarh University, she holds a Ph.D in international Affairs from from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Fluent in Hindi, Urdu and Bengali, she is the author of Kotheywali and Holee as serialized by Abhivyakti and has been a guest instructor at Columbia, Johns Hopkins and New York Universities. Contact email srana641@aol.com.