My Lover Poem by Ahmed Moonamkai

Bring no garland of flowers
For my lover has no neck;
No welcome with betel to chew
For he lacks a human mouth;
My lover is my lord,
Who has no body.
In the sphere, where the
Spirit and the body,
Vanishes, he exists.
Oh, Ye wayfarers!
Partake in my rejoicing,
Won’t you?
Servant
My God
I am ready to forget,
Forsake, and refuse, everything.
Oh, Time! who were you,
In my previous birth?
Only a servile escort
To the harem;
One who took me
To the portico of my lord.
In his radiance, I stood
Awestruck, and numbed.
Somewhere, soundlessly,
My anklets fell down.
Tongue-tied, I stood,
Chiseled in electric silence.
I forgot you in his presence.
A singer I was,
Yet, speechless and powerless,
I stood.
Though a dancer,
I lost my steps.
I have no care for you;
You are in oblivion.
Your brown eyes do not
Haunt my sleep,
Nor my dreams.
Prostration
My God
I immersed in joyous celebration
In the pond lit by sunrays,
Trees in blossom,
Showered their flowers.
Like sheep gone astray,
On the meadow,
Were spread
The silver tinted clouds.
What is my offence,
My lord?
Is ecstasy
A violation of rules?
Jeers and sneers,
I hear around me.
I see furious eyes.
My living and my departure,
Mean the same.
Who gains?
Who loses?
This novel sense twitches my body,
My spirit feels ashamed,
And it prostrates at your feet.
Written by Kamala Surayya
Translated from Malayalam by: Ahmed Moonamkai