Poems of Priya K Nair(English)
A Poem
A poem is not a dog
that you pet
at leisure, nor a
bird
you admire
locking it up in a
cage.
A poem is a beast
of prey
that sniffs blood
oozing from wounds.
A vulture that
awaits
fresh tragedy.
A wild, untamed
creature
that splits you
open
and you give birth
bleeding black
spots on white surfaces
Termites
Perhaps we should
look at the termites
and learn to thrive
in desolate lands
to build mounds
that rise with unseen depths
to sense and learn
without eyes that deceive
to plod and prod
and do your will
To live without a
scheme ahead
and in deafening
silence
knock down the best
laid plan.
I,Scheherazade
spin words into
yarns
binding the mad
king
with a spectacle of
birds and beasts
Wise women and
foolish men.
Yet a story remains
forever untold
the words spectre
like
flitting between
day and night
The story of
unbidden love
A tale that
promises death.
I,Scheherazade
chained to the manic king adept at the art of
escape drifted across blue oceans and strange lands.
I passed on the craft of escape to my
daughters
as they writhed like worms under unwashed
vessels and suffocating arms.
I, Scheherazade
Watch you
devouring the tales I spin.
dead horses dead men
stomping across battle fields that I may live
another day,
Weaving you into a psychedelic tapestry of subtle truth
that you mistook for an overactive imagination.
The spider wove you
into her fragile web
strutting as an impregnable fortress
Dr. Priya K.Nair
Assistant professor in English, St. Teresa’s
College, Cochin,
India
9495027525
Translations
T. D. Ramakrishnan’s Francis Itty Cora pub: Three Rivers Delhi
T D Ramakrishnan’s Sugandhi Alias Andal Devanayaki Translation from Malayalam. Harper Collins.2018. ISBN 9789352777655.
Longlisted for the DSC prize 2019
Dead Men Tell Tales.
Translation of Dr Umadathan’s autobiography. Published
by Harper Collins
Alpha
Translation from Malayalam of T D Ramakrishnan’s novel Published by
Macmillan
‘Betty’ Translation from Malayalam of Maria Rose’s Short
story. Included in the
syllabus of Kerala University