Zinnia And The Mushrooms Poem by Ravikumar C.P.

Original Kannada Poem by K.V. Rajagopala
Translated by C.P. Ravikumar

I planted a Zinnia in my garden,
and watered it with care.
My joy to watch the plant grow,
inch by inch, smiling and swinging
like an infant on cool mornings.

I marked the calendar and kept count
of days before the first blossom.
I kept a watchful eye on the plant
and watered it with care.
One day, right next to my Zinnia plant,
a mushroom sprang up like an open umbrella.
Gift of mother nature, I said,
and watered the two together.
Watching the two grow, I marvelled
at their symbiotic existence.
The Zinnia laughed as always and
the mushroom muliplied, two today
and four tomorrow,
soon forming a floral bouquet
around the Zinnia plant.
The Zinnia appeared solemn,
now that a whole bunch of little florets
appeared at its nose tip
like tiny pimples.
When the florets bloomed,
I could not help but see in their pistils
a trace of resemblance to the mushrooms.

My dream plant is infected,
my heart broke with this realization.
I found myself swinging
between reality and dream station.