Memories - poem

 Memories- poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

Memories- poem

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With the fish  

Comes the memory  

Of the village tank.

With the flowers  

Comes the memory  

Of the pond.

With the cane  

Comes the memory  

Of the teacher.

With the food  

Comes the memory  

Of Grandmother.

With college  

Comes the memory  

Of Grandfather.

With coffee  

Comes the memory  

Of a friend.

With the night  

Comes the memory  

Of sleep.

With youth  

Comes the memory  

Of love.

With love  

Comes the memory  

Of you.

And with you  

Comes the memory  

Of me.

------Nagendra bharathi

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English  

I Have Somewhere to Go - poem

 I Have Somewhere to Go- poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

I Have Somewhere to Go- poem

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Mother asked me  

To buy vegetables  

On my way back.

But I have somewhere to go—  

I must meet my beloved.

Father asked me  

To look for a job.

But I must go  

Looking for her.

My younger sister asked me  

To buy her a book.

But I must go  

And study my lessons.

My little brother asked me  

To bring him peanut candy.

But I must go  

And taste the sweets of love.

Everyone keeps asking me  

To buy this and that.

But there is something  

I must go and get—

Something  

I have been longing for.

--------Nagendra bharathi 

  

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English  

The Fragrance of Madurai - poem

 The Fragrance of Madurai- poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

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The Fragrance of Madurai - poem 

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Aadi, Chithirai, Maasi—  

Avani’s outer streets;

Marat, Vadakku Masi,  

The lanes around the Mahal;

Streets circling temples,  

Alleys crossing every way;

Market mud, slick underfoot,  

And jasmine scenting the air.

There is Arya Bhavan,  

And Vilas for meat lovers;

Idlis with chutney—seven kinds,  

Kothu parotta with its curry.

There are temple festivals,  

And cinema shows in makeshift sheds;

Devotees mad about MGR,  

And fans who swear by Sivaji.

There is sweat,  

The honest toil of labour;

And empty swagger,  

The art of showing off.

There is the madness of anger,  

And the grace of folded hands.

--------Nagendra bharathi 

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English   

When Shall We Be Born Again? - poem

 When Shall We Be Born Again?- poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

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When Shall We Be Born Again?- Poem 

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He held the bicycle seat,  

Ran beside me,  

His hand lightly steadying me  

As I learned to ride.

At the tank steps,  

He lay flat on his stomach,  

Held my legs afloat,  

And taught me how to swim.

Up the rough-barked tree,  

He helped me climb  

And settle in its fork,  

Then pushed my feet  

To send me swinging.

When lessons slipped my mind  

And anguish took their place,  

He made me recite  

Every multiplication table  

Until I remembered.

There he goes now—

Lying on a bamboo bier.

When shall we  

Be born again,  

You and I?

-----Nagendra Bharathi 

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English 

The Life That Returned - poem

 The Life That Returned- poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

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The Life That Returned- poem 

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A thunderous crash  

Split my ears.

My head  

Struck something  

Somewhere.

The saliva  

Gathering in my mouth  

Turned bitter.

Along a dark road,  

My journey  

Led to nowhere.

A sudden blaze  

Swallowed everything  

And was done.

The shock  

Of plunging  

Into an endless abyss—

As though I were dissolving  

Into a silence  

Black as night.

Somewhere,  

A lone firefly.

My eyes  

Fluttered and flickered,  

Struggling to open.

And in that  

Faint wash of light—

My wife’s face.

---------Nagendra bharathi 

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English  

The Heart in Love - poem

 The Heart in Love- poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

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The Heart in Love- poem 

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Are you  

Breathing too often?

Are waves  

Rushing through you  

One after another?

Is your body  

Rising and falling  

Like a restless tide?

Is sweat  

Seeping through  

Your skin?

Are your eyes  

Closing softly  

Like cotton-stuffed lids?

Is fear, too,  

Welling up  

Within you?

Can you feel  

The heat  

Of your blood?

Does everything  

Feel somehow  

Strange?

When it comes  

In the bloom of youth—

The sickness  

Is love.

When it comes  

In the autumn of age—

The sickness  

Is the heart.

---------- nagendra bharathi 

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English    

A Fortunate Hour - poem

 A Fortunate Hour- poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

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A Fortunate Hour- poem 

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The little girl  

Who holds a finger  

And walks beside it—

The hour  

A ring of promise  

Shines upon her finger.

The girl  

Who sits with her lessons—

The hour  

Her lessons change  

To another kind.

The girl  

Who goes to work—

The hour  

Her working hours  

Grow longer still.

The girl  

For whom one man  

Is her whole world—

The hour  

She becomes  

His other half.

The girl  

Who rests in joy  

Upon her mother’s lap—

The hour  

She, too, becomes  

A mother.

----- nagendra bharathi 

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English 

Karuvayan’s Wedding - poem

 Karuvayan’s Wedding - poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

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Karuvayan’s Wedding

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The little fish in the village tank

would nip between your toes;

the honeycombs on the karuvelam trees

would sting you with sweetness.

Just the sight of the tamarind tree

would make the tongue begin to water;

whenever Pongal was cooked,

clouds of smoke would fill the air.

The panchayat radio

would sing throughout the day;

and cinema songs would fan

the stirrings of adolescence.

As the whole village gathered

with ululations of joy,

the nadaswaram would sound aloud;

and wild young men, intoxicated with youth,

would roam about with staffs in hand.

Dried fish and fresh catch from the tank

would turn fiery and full of spice;

and at last,

Karuvayan and Karuvachi

would come together in marriage.

— Nagendra Bharathi

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English 

Wage-Earning Fingers - poem

 Wage-Earning Fingers - poem 

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'Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in the English translation of my original Tamil creations.”)

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Wage-Earning Fingers - poem 

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Some fingers

like matchsticks,

some fingers

like roasted peanuts,

some fingers

like milk packets,

some fingers

like cups of coffee and tea,

some fingers

like shop-wrapped parcels,

some fingers

like muddy fields,

some fingers

like the folds of a sari,

some fingers

like sheets of paper and newspapers,

some fingers

like begging bowls—

wage-earning fingers,

children’s fingers.

— Nagendra Bharathi

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English  

Separate seasons - poem

 Separate seasons - poem 

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(thanks to ChatGPT for helping me to translate my original Tamil Poem into English  )

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Separate seasons - poem 

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What I studied—

was the first season;

what my children studied—

the season that followed.

The work I did—

was the first season;

the work my children did—

the season that followed.

When I made a family—

that was the first season;

when my children made their families—

the season that followed.

When I began to grow weary—

that was the first season;

when my children began to grow weary—

the season that followed.

Two railway tracks

never meet.

Better, then,

to yield a little,

and to cherish each other.

— Nagendra Bharathi

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English