Malla Sahitya || june || Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih

|| Malla Sahitya ||  Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih

Consolation

I want to send you words

that will massage your soul

and wipe away your sorrow.

But how do I console you

when your ailment is a virus

mutating into new forms every day?

You would not even tell me

what ails you exactly!

You sit by the window watching the sunrise;

you sit by the window watching the sunset.

Let me be the zephyr

from the Brahmaputra,

fanning your luminous face,

caressing your luminous hair.

Let me stroke your back with chiropractic fingers;

let me rub your chest to ease your breathing.

Because I cannot be with you,

I silently fold you in my arms

and kiss your head repeatedly.

Bury your face in my chest, Nameri;

I want you to feel the great love

beating there for you.

Pour your troubles into me,

let your soul be with mine,

do not speak if you can’t.

When you feel what I feel for you,

you will understand why

you will never be alone in this life.

Be brave, be strong.

What happens to you today

is what you are becoming tomorrow,

and pain may set you free.

I give you my soul in this life;

I leave you my love when I die.

I am your safety net;

fall on me, Nameri.

Festering Wound

When I spoke about you to the moon,

he hid his face behind a cloud.

I knew the night would not be joyous.

I thought you were displeased with me,

but your tears flowed

from an ancient well of sorrow.

The festering wound in your heart

needs the healing salve of sympathy,

but those around you, Nameri,

only want you to do

what you do not want to do.

It’s not your happiness

but what the world thinks of you

that matters most to them.

And nor will they stop

unless you become

what they think

women should become.

I want to hug you,

stroke your hair,

caress your back,

kiss your tears.

I want to whisper in your ears:

those who follow their hearts

are never let astray.

Though far away,

my love knows no distance;

my words are passionate

in their desire to serve you.

Collect your tears in a glass bottle, Nameri,

I will add mine to yours, and together,

our sorrow will spring into life

and sing of the sweet sadness of things,

the essence of our song.