LOVE,
PERHAPS
-
Praveena
H (India)
The one who loved me,
The one who captivated me,
How deep is your silence?
I suffered to reach its peak,
Yet it stretches too far
For a simpleton like me to grasp.
And still,
The foolish thought remains
That you are mine.
I cannot make sense of it,
Like lightning coursing through my heart
Whenever I feel that I am yours,
An ecstasy
As though Allama Prabhu
Has written a new exegesis of love
Upon illusion.
When we say “you” and “I”,
The line blurs,
Disappears between selves,
And there exists a love
So calm, so innocent,
Like Gautama Buddha,
Surpassing all human expectation.
Is your silence that vast,
An ocean without shore?
Tell me how to reach you,
Must I row
With paddles made of love?
The pinnacle of devotion is love,
My beloved,
And the pinnacle of love is devotion.
Akka Mahadevi
And Allama Prabhu
Remain its greatest echoes.
Could love be nothing more than the tale of our
companionship.
-
Translated
by Kiran K (India)
****