A Heat Beyond Endurance — poem

A Heat Beyond Endurance — poem

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

At dawn,

you were the one who asked

for hot water for your bath;

you were the one who wore

a freshly washed sari

while it was still warm from the iron;

you were the one who plucked

the steaming idli

with fingers quick as lightning;

you were the one who touched

the sacred flame

before the goddess

on Aadi Velli.

“Every heat I can endure

is a pleasure,”

you used to say.

You kissed my cheek,

winked at me,

waved your hand,

and set out—

never knowing

that another heat

was waiting for you.

You came home

like a bundle of firewood.

As the breath

left your body,

did you call for Amma?

Did you cry out,

calling and calling,

until your voice grew weary?

Oh, sinner that I am—

did the dead fire

of my fate

not leap upon you?

Will I ever leap

across that fire

and behold

my precious one again?

— Nagendra Bharathi

My Poems/Stories/Articles in Tamil and English