Tamil original – : Indran Rajendran
Sudalai
I’m taking a rest
Under the neem tree
In the cremation ground.
Butterflies sucking honey
From yellow flowers tossing
On the mounds of grave
Fluttering their tiny wings
Celebrate absurdity.
He’s enquiring everyone of the mourners
In the funeral procession
The meaning of the life
Of Harichandran who sits as an idol
In the cremation ground
Because he spoke the truth.
The ashes of the poet who attempted to
Write poems for eternity
Who died yesterday
Are dissolved in the Ganges today.
The watchman of the crematorium
Is named Sudalai
After Siva
Who sits in meditation
In the burning ghat.
—Translated from Tamil by Prof. Chinthamani
