What he said (trns: AK Ramanujam)
Submitted by Mediochre - beautifully translated tamil sangam poetry...What he saidWhat could my mother be
To yours? What kin is my father
To yours anyway? And how
Did you and I meet ever?
But in love
Our hearts have mingled
Like red earth and pouring rain
- Translated from Kurunthokai by AK Ramanujam
sea fever
every time i see the moon glinting on the sea im reminded of this poem. its an old favourite of mine...Sea Fever I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
- John Masefield
Aggini Kunju (The Fledgling ember - Tamil) by Subramaniya Bharathi
Aggini Kunju - Tamil
Aggini Kunjondru Kanden - Adhai
Angoru Kattilor Pondhidai Vaithen
Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kadu - Thazal Veerathil
Kunjendum Moopendrum Undo?
Thatharikita Thatharikita Thithom
- Subramaniya Bharathi
The fledgling ember
A fledgling ember of flame - I found.
And I placed it under a hollow
In a distant wood.
The forest was burnt down to ashes...
Is youth or eld a factor in fieriness?
Thatharikita Thatharikita Thithom
- Subramaniya Bharathi
separation - w s merwin
Misha suggested this poem, saying:
Read this somewhere and thought it was really nice. Though I really dont know if it qualifies for melancholetta because to me it came across as a positive poem. Then again ,depends on how one is inclined to interpret it! It is, however, taut and beautifully composed!SeparationYour absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.
