ABOUT THE POEM:
The poem titled WILL HE MAKE ME HAPPY? is a translated version of a poem from Tamil literature that describes with great lucidity the anguish of a woman with tearful eyes that resemble dark blue water lilies after her lover left her. The speaker hopes that he will return to wipe away her tears. The lover had gone through a difficult journey through a sun-beaten, arid wilderness where even the mountain cliffs were parched. The imagery describes a lonely and weary landscape where a stag wanders, calling out for its mate with a feeble cry that sounds human to passers-by. The poem evokes a sense of loneliness and longing for companionship in a harsh and unforgiving world.
WILL HE MAKE ME HAPPY?
Oh, my eyes so large and fair,
With tears that brim and overflow in despair,
Resemble dark blue water lilies,
Soaked by the rain that falls in a flurry.
Oh, if only my love would return,
And wipe away the tears that churn,
From my cheeks and eyelids soaked wet,
And heal my heart that's filled with regret.
He left me alone and in pain,
Passed through a wilderness of sun and rain,
Where the tracks were narrow and barren,
And the shade was scarce and beaten.
There, a stag with forked antlers roamed,
Like a barren tree, his fate bemoaned,
chasing after mirage so evasive,
And calling for his mate in a voice so decisive.
His feeble cry sounded so human,
To the passers-by who heard his traumatic tune,
In vast stretches of millet fields,
And mountainside where nature yields.
Where gnemai trees with shapely trunks abound,
And swaying bamboo stalks create a deafening sound,
Even the mountain cliffs seemed parched and dry,
As my tears kept falling from my eye.
Oh, how I long for my love to come back,
And make my heart perfect free from setback,
Of his love and tender thought,
To console my soul and enthuse my heart.
(what the girl told her friend expressing her anguish due to her separation from her lover and her longing to reunite with him)
(Note: The 'gnemai' is an unidentified Sangam tree that was growing on the high peaks of the Himalayas )
