When a Star Fell
K. Padmakumar *
Standing alone and my mind filled with
Unnamed feelings, I look around
Like a hornworm caterpillar shaking its head
From the last storey of the tall building –
The light covering of darkness
On the hills and woods, deep and enchanting
At far off places.
What I have seen is just a speck
A minuscule dot on the point of a needle.
There are many things
I had not seen earlier but seen now,
More and more things there are
I would not be able to appreciate in this life.
Nothing I am in this rich earth
And it will not be poorer without me when I am dead.
The universe keeps on expanding frighteningly
And I become smaller and smaller
Almost like a dew drop shaking and swaying in the wind.
I think with a sinking heart
My death will not affect the endlessness of the world
The sky does not miss much when a star falls from it.
How lovely is the time of day when the first light appears!
How amazing is the onset of spring after a hard winter!
How enchanting is the four-day-old moon!
She will shine after my death like she does today.
In this great play of the world and in the storyline
that fate has ordained
I begin to wonder what my role is.
Like the thumb and the fingers that stick out
from the hand are different
Even though I was born in the lower class of society
And even though I take a back seat, a place is set for me.
O the immortal one! This poor little thing
Even when it is flown away like a kite
with its string snapped
It appears it would firmly remain attached to somewhere
in the domain of your family.
(Translated from his late father's Manipuri poem Thawanmichak Ama Kenkhibada by K. Radhakumar)
* Poem written by K. Padmakumar ; Translated by K Radhakumar which was published at Hueiyen Lanpao
This poem was posted on January 29, 2015.
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