Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Ultimatum:Yashwant Manohar

Yashwant Manohar


Ultimatum

See this row of sunsets in the cracks of my eyes
Tell me how to live if at each moment one dies,
In this decisive darkness I seek for words,brother
Like one enclosed in a forest of flames forever I smother
And what if raise a piteous cry
In this well-appointed cemetery
Or rage against this settlement
Of leafless cannibal trees
On these accursed lips summer fires arise, brother
Set aflame by stormy winds
And each vein is alight with lamps of deadly venom
Tell me what seas would cool this burn
Or tell me how to live as I die at each moment’s turn.

The day attacks, a terrorist in the land of my brain
And nights never cease, the soul is aflame
Serried ranks of bone confront me at every step;
They surround me, laughing hideously,
Throughout my generations.
Tell me what place of rest this barred breast can earn
Or tell me h live as I die at each moment’s turn.

The sky here owns not a spot
That would afford a shade
To my beheaded breaths
The roads look strange, brother,
And so is the air
The rains do not let me
Break into a moonlight clear
What kinships should I dwell on for a moment
As I draw a covering of ocean over me
I feel a foreigner among the people
Bearing the burden of such a bastard life
Steming lava has dashed against my lips
O tell me what answer I should return
Or tell me how to live as I die at each moment’s turn.



Translated by Charudatta Bhagwat

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