S.P.BALAMURUGAN'S POEMS (2)

TWO POEMS BY 

S.P.BALAMURUGAN

 Translated into English by Latha Ramakrishnan(*First Draft)

There was a time when father used to talk

through his breath instead of voice
Sometimes when stubbornly insisting on something at home
Father’s breath would silence everybody.
While someone had come home
or someone was conversing
Mother’s eyes would caution us
and would respond too.
But, father’s conversation
would consist of a small cough and breath.
The same way when father was ailing
and being in the hospital
It was a ventilator that preserved his breath
till the very end.
The breathing apparatus that father had used for long
is still there
all silent in my book shelf .

2. THE CONFESSION OF A FLOATING ELEPHANT

Two elephant that went in search of food

Had entered a residential area and drank the liquor there.
The drunken elephants
Ruined the garden there
They broke the walls of the house.
They walked on as if in delirium
Then they fell unconscious in the garden itself
Later they were chained and imprisoned
Many cases were filed against the elephants and came to court
And, the elephants were proved guilty.
The elephants argued against the Home Ministry
But none chose to agree
Was producing liquor the fault of the people?
Was the Home Ministry at fault in not finding it out?
Was deforestation a crime committed by the people?
That the elephants having no food to eat
_ a crime committed by the State?