Last Day Poem by Rajendra Keshavlal Shah

In the house which was full of din, in the dusty courtyard
I kept the small baggage of the last age
And then the misty sad sun's
First ray shone in the sky; and that direction awoke in tremor.

The neighboring big ones living asked my welfare,
The housewives looked at me and got talking,
Out of curiosity children encircled me,
The dog barked for a minute and then smelt my feet.

Locks were unlocked, the doors made a moan,
Their bodies were close-bound in a motionless condition.
Then the stale air from within, finding way,
Ran out. As if a dead soul rose unfettered.

I went in the house and the darkness covered me for a moment.
Then as if lit in a pencil of light I saw the old earthenware.

[Translated from the Gujarati by P. Machwe]