Peacock's Feather-eye

(Rendered from the Telugu of SRI CHENTA DEEKSHITULU)

BY R. APPALASWAMI, M.A., VIZIANAGARAM

O who hath to the peacock given
His feathers lit with lustrous eyes
Which shed soul-holding gleams of heaven?
And when he spreads his tail fan-wise
And dances with such wondrous grace,
Do not fate-sure in vision rise
The beauty of Lord Krishna’s face?
The sleek and mobile hues that crowd
When sunset creeps through folds of cloud;
And of sapphires the liquid blaze;
The glints and luminous replies
In girl’s collyrium-painted eyes: –
Of all rich tints the essence stays
Fast-caught in fair Peacocks-feather-eyes.
O thou blessed, proud Peacock’s feather-eye
That rose in matchless gaiety
From Krishna’s twisted knot of hair–
Thou hadst in His romance thy share:
What breath-taking images teem
In thine each fresh revealing gleam,
–Of His resistless shrill flute-notes!
–Of lovely Dames on whom song dotes!