Yesterday

VALLATHOL NARAYANA MENON
(Translated from the original Malayalam by
K. S. ANANTA SUBRAMONY)

Behold! in Time’s eternal sea
Again a wave does rise, and beats
Against the shore small parts to be,
And into memory retreats!

O Day! you who came with new light
And decked with the sun’s golden crest,
The world, ris’n from the sleep of night,
Did welcome as a holy guest.

The flowers smiled and birds did sing
Their songs to welcome you. The breeze
To wash your feet did water bring
From the dew-laden leaves of trees.

With clothes in wrinkled disarray
And red lips grown a little pale,
Fair damsels from their chambers gay
Emerged and gladly did you hail.

Their looks that bangled hands made free
To tie again a fairer knot,
Made you an offering flowery
That with a fragrance new was fraught.

You entered with your form so bright
World’s forest and did sunlight strew;
But some Kaarkootakdid youbite
And like Nala’s, your form dark grew,

Because the twain called Work and Rest
Had robbed you of your wealth to share,
You empty grew and lost your zest –
Did harder fate e’er trav’ller bear?

You came with pure effulgent light
To brighten all things ev’rywhere;
But you got painted black as night –
This world is naught but Maya’s snare.

Wherefore did you come here O Day?
To pick and melt the bits of gold
That scattered lie in the skyway,
Fire-red medallion to mould?

Or came you so that you could take
The speeding love-lorn sun’s missive
And bring it to the lotus lake
For joyous, humming bees to give?

Or came so that you could apply
Bright hues to creepers, flow’rs and leaves,
From your seat beautiful in sky
With brushes made of sunray sheaves?

Or came you shadows long to trace,
To shorten them and ’gain long make,
And then the whole at last erase,
Pretending thus His role to take
Who does create, keep and efface?

Or came to build a staircase rare
From sunset sea unto the sky,
With clouds, like blocks of crystals square,
That floating in the sky do lie?

Or came you little waves to wake
Within the sky’s cerulean lake,
With silent flights of crows who make
Their way to nests, their rest to take?

Or else, kissed by the galaxies
On Mother Nature’s lap to lie
And sleep, lulled by the lullabies
Of Koelsthat with honey hie
To pour in flow’ry chalices?

Your object now well do I know
In coming thus, O yesterday!
You came to go ahead and show
To my last resting place the way.

You do invite me silently
And I O friend! do follow you;
Where may that world we go to, be?
Will it be like this one to view?

You and your comrades sped away,
From earth’s attachments all made free;
Where you do unreturning stay
With fortune ’ffulgent ought to be!

But what if it in darkness be?
Is it not our orig’nal home?
Blind to our own reality
In alien land let us not roam
And by its blandishment duped be.

You and your manes my escorts make;
Your younger brothers follow me;
Me like a monarch you do take
Towards that place right royally.