Shadow Poem by Bharati Nayak
Shadow
Summer has set in
Sun burns overhead
Shooting fire from sky
Deep line of cracks
Visible on earth's body
Small grasses dry
Flowers hide
I am dying for a patch of shade.
I have left
That shadow of banyan tree
Far behind
My feet get tired
Refuse to go ahead
Just when I was falling
I found the bayan tree coming near me
Its green branches
Waving coolness.
I opened my eyes
And saw my dear bayan tree
Standing near me
Then I fell asleep in peace.
I am glad that the banyan is there for village children who come to play Fitting for the storyteller who brings his ever-branching rhizome of tales Fitting for the meditator whose thoughts also grow like a grove There are many trunks to sit beneath, belonging to one shared life
Waving coolness! ! ! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.
Its quite comfortable to sleep under the banyan tree, especially in the hot summer. Thank you
Part 2 Chai, I think means shade. The benevolence of trees is beyond descriptions. They endure the harsh sun to render us cool shade. They also flower to sooth our eyes. And provide fruit to satiate our hunger.
Thank you Unnikrishnan E.S. for your lovely comment. In Odia Shadow or shade is 'Chhaai' . 'Chai' or 'Cha' means 'Tea'.Yes, had there been no trees, there would have been no lives.No wonder, in India, trees like 'banyan', 'peepal', Neem, 'bel', 'amla'(Indian gooseberry) , plants like basil and many other trees are are worshipped by people as representing God.
Hi Bharati, This wonderful poem, we would have missed if you had not reset it in English. True, we bilinguals have this handicap, we can not decide in which language a poem takes birth. It is decided by the poem itself. And, at least I find it very difficult to transliterated our poem into English. I often do translations of poems of other poets.
Again thank you poet Unnikrishnan E.S. for your interest in reading my poems and encouraging me to post English translation of my Odia poems. You are are an excellent translator and I have read many of your translation of Hindi poems by Kavita Singh.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/25/2024 6:08:37 AM # 1.0.0.1119
YHANK you for translating this into English- -this is a treasure to read. U am putting it on my fav list so I will read it again nabd again. It puts me into your mind and heat and that banyan tree lives in the heat waves off this poem as a place og comfort. 10++++++
Dear Susan Williams! I am so grateful to you.Your words so beautiful, so refreshing and so calming! You have recently gone through eye surgery and in spite of your blurry eye, you chose to read my poem and chose to write your appreciation! What better reward a poet can get for writing poem ? God bless you dear Susan Williams.Get well soon.