Only for a Day

Only for a Day

Only for a day
she will not think
about you
 
and fish will lose
their way in the water
 
the burning sun will hang
helpless in its orbit
 
the umbilical cord of time
will wind round its own neck
 
Only for a day
she, forgetful,
will place her lamp
between the sun and moon
 
and the seven sages
of the heavens will be anxious
 
letters will shatter
after breaking away from scripts
 
souls will forget their faces
and there will be no mirrors
 
Only for a day
you will vanish
in an ethereal mist,
a moment
 
and darkness will spread
to the ends of the universe
lava will gather
inside the earth
 
and cockles burn
in their shells
for miles
 
Only for a day's
oblivion
this body will turn blue
 
with its own bite
 
Just for a day
she won't think
of you
 
And the fish will forget
their way in the water
 
The burning sun will be suspended
helpless in the solar orbit
 
Time's umbilical cord will coil
around its own neck
 
Just for a day
she, oblivious,
will place her light
between the sun and the moon
 
And the seven sages in the sky
will be worried
 
Letters will separate
and fall off the scripts
 
Creatures will forget their faces
and there will be no mirrors
 
Just for a day
And you will vanish
in an ethereal mist
in a moment
 
Darkness will spread
till the end of the universe
 
Lava will gather
inside the earth
 
For miles
snails will burn
inside their shells
 
In just a day's
obliteration
this body will turn blue
 
from its own bites
 
 
 

Original Poem by

Gagan Gill

Translated by

Lucy Rosenstein with Jane Duran Language

Hindi

Country

India