The Transcendental Element

PC: POORNIMA

The flower looks towards the sky, yet it belongs, by nature, to the earth. It merges back into the earth, yet it is divine, ethereal. This little bloom is but you and I. Reaching for the skies, we return to dust. Having turned into dust we - the essential 'you' or 'I' - cross all boundaries of the elements.

Here's a poem by Jayashree Peringode followed by its translation.

നിഷ്കപടം           

ഉയിരാർന്നിതൾ വീശി

വിണ്ണിലേക്കായുന്ന

മണ്ണാണ് നീ; നറും

പുഞ്ചിരിച്ചെണ്ടായി

മണ്ണിലേക്കിറ്റുന്ന

വിണ്ണാണു നീ.

© Jayashree Peringode

Unfeigned

Ensouled, you surge into the sky
in a sweep of petals,
the earth that you are,
you drop to the ground
in a posy of a sweet smile,
the heaven that you are.

© Sujatha Warrier

[The above poem and translation were first published on indianperiodical.com.]