Opposition to Solitary
by Kumar Ambuj
He is a pebble
In the comfort of your sleep
A tiny thought
A word in your shining language that
Makes you stutter
A pothole in your way
A deterrence to your fast pace
Among this vast pool of masses he is the one
That makes you stagger
You call him a naught
And this is how you give him reckoning
You have conquered stars
Conquered jewels, slaves, idols, the covetous
And the ruins
Your stallion is returning with wicker
A small thing is worth mentioning then
That there is a person who works as a qualm for you
Someone who is alone but is against you
This is so deadly for you
So fierce that you think of
Killing him some day
But he is a pebble, a pothole
A word, a folk tale, a tradition
(Translated from Hindi by Bharatbhooshan Tiwari)
Kumar Ambuj‘s is a well-known name in contemporary Hindi Poetry. He has published 5 collections of poetry – Kivaad (1992), Kroorta (1996), Anantim (1998),Atikraman (2002), Ameeri Rekha (2011) – and a collection of stories, Ichchayein (2008).
I love the poem, not the ending.
Never thought of killing him,
just to love him
for being fiercy,
and to make him my friend.
Dear Kumar Ambuj jee,
I have heard Telugu translation of your poem in ‘Daud hee daud’ at 4th World Telugu Conference in Tirupati today. I liked this very much.
would like to read / recite the original version.
Dear Chandeeswar G,
You may please visit my blog kumarambujbpl.blogspot.in