ABOUT THE POEM:
This is a translated version of an overwhelmingly impressive poem from Tamil literature, A TRUANT LOVER. It is about what the girl’s friend said to the lover asking him not to make the girl fret and fume over his truancy and condemns unequivocally his fancy to keep her in a permanent state of anxiety about the safety of her lover. In the course of the poem, the girl’s companion elaborates on the enchanting place of the lover and the hazardous journey with its impending dangers, which the lover has to undertake en route to reach the girl’s place.
A TRUANT LOVER
On the mountain cliffs,
where the clouds cluster
and make fun and frolic
like mounds of cotton string
made by old maids.
Jackfruits hanging
from the cranky trunks
of the zigzag old trees
are enormous and expansive.
The folks inhabiting the slopes
tilling the rough soil
for their livelihood.
The lively little girl of a hillman
nurturing a dark-fingered monkey
with a feast of jackfruit
young fellow, of these mountains
you are an expert in love,
yet, you are not a laudable man
you keep my friend
forever in grip of fear
worrying for your security.
For the ways by which you cross
the slopes in the wee small hours
are loaded with hazards.
A triumphant elephant
after a successful combat
tramples a tiger to death,
rumbles in rage rampantly
trumpeting like thunder.
(what the girl’s friend said to the lover asking him not to make the girl fret and fume over his truancy)
