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Marathi poems translated by Santosh Bhoomkar
 

I HAD NOTHING AT ALL TO TELL
 

I had nothing at all
to tell

No definite action
No gilded past
Not even marvellous dreams in my eyes
That I could talk about
To establish my existence

Barren soil
Gaping wide right to the horizon
A yoke
Taken off the neck and put away

I couldn’t think of anything
I squeezed the soil with my soles
Remembering the rainbow-coloured
Monsoon symphony
That they had played for me

Not with sparkling but
Cheerless eyes
 

ALL THESE NOISES
 

Chirping of a sparrow
Struggling to build a nest

Meowing of gently taking steps of a cat
As its brushes against the leg

Untimely irregular crowing of a crow
In front of the door

Pattering of hailstones along with rains
On dry hard earth on the backyard floor

In the midst of the clamour of hens
The pretentious sharp crowing of a full-crested cock

Different sharp sounds of different hooves
On the dry fallen leaves

In the receding sun, smeared with dust
Collective tinkling of bells in the neck of cattle returning home

Booming in slow rhythm of a pigeon
From the trees along the desolate street going distant

Tick-tacking of a woodpecker on a trunk
From the plantation of Eucalyptus or Teak

Swishing of a wind
Lapping of water that has become rare

Only the cuckooing is heard
From behind the leaves of a mango tree

Open cries of free peacocks
Roaming through the relics of an old fort

Scattered among dark green trees
After seeing dark clouds

Blooming of gruff croaking by hundreds of frogs
In the dark after dazzling rain

Creaking of a joint inside the body
Wordless monologue going on continuously within

Getting hold of these noises
One by one after becoming savage 

Stabbing them by
Gangs of cluttered musical instruments
 

A BIRD
 

As you were sitting near the window
For the birds arriving from distant country

Your voice gently settled
On the branch of the tree in front

A bird arrived from the sky
And settled on the same branch

It once again gave back
Your own voice to you

You didn’t realize
What had happened

You are singing
Along with the bird