‘The poet leads me / along the zigzag trail of language’: In these poems, silence is thoughtful

Skin Can’t Cover Everything

Translated by Santosh Bhoomkar

Skin can’t cover everything.
It only covers
the skeleton,
wrapped in flesh,
dangling even in a college laboratory.

It covers the molar teeth inside the jaw,
but it can’t cover
all the sharp intentions behind them.

It doesn’t allow the tumult within to speak out.
It can’t even cover
the terrible silence that spreads afterward.

Though it has no eyes,
it can make gestures.
It doesn’t have a voice but calls even from a distance.

Hundreds of flint stones
are hidden in it.
It is made of mica layers.

It is an alphabet scattered all over the world,
a mutual language
not confined to any single script.

Even after playing all games,
it remains aloof,
and is enthralled by itself.

It has many colours.
It balances shapes and defines beauty.
Its brilliance is both glittering and dull,
matured by the sun and rain.

It tries with all its strength to make us stand
as human beings.

But it can’t cover
the wild animals
hidden within us,
waiting to commit crimes.

The Silent Killer

Translated by Santosh Bhoomkar

He is the most vigilant in the crowd,
the most alert, the most disciplined man.
Stuffing all verbosity inside,
he zips it shut and remains silent.

He is always trying to change his appearance,
but he cannot change his eyes,
which even he cannot fully comprehend.
His determined steps tread the chartered path.

While the crowd busily forges bonds,
he alone flips through the pages of history.
A legion works silently behind him,
binding him with an unyielding rope of threat.

All around him, the restless present bubbles.
He is part of a headless beast,
a creature that has arrived here,
sniffing its way without eyes.

It is ensured that a killer instinct burns within him,
a flame that will never extinguish.
He has been...

Read more