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Waves

September 25th, 2012 by naren bedide

Waves under watch!

Dreams that waves bear under watch!

The soft breeze like sitar music

That shows love for the waves under watch! 

 

The boats

That move on the waves under watch!

The sails of the boats under watch!

The whiteness of the sails of the boats under watch!

 

Waves over the gallows!

Waves behind the bars!

Waves in tears! Waves!

Waves in the jungle! Waves!

The people are the sea! The waves are the squad!

The waves are dear to the sea!

 

A knife to the throat of the waves!

New blood from the waves' wounds!

New blood from the waves' wounds

Under the hooves of the sea pirates' horses!

Pirates driving daggers into the ocean's heart

And drinking its blood! Sea Pirates!

Sons of the clay footed great demon

Bandits who roam freely on all shores! 

 

The waves wept

The great sad sea

The waves raised questions

A great roar filled the sea

The waves moved

A great wind all over the sea

Flames on the tips of the waves

An inferno in the sea

The waves moved

The waves roared

The waves wove circles

They touched shore after shore

They brought down the clay footed great demon

On a desert island.

 

Who can stop the waves?

Who can stop the sea?

Waves as the ocean's labour pains

 

Are poverty's dreams for tomorrow

Waves are the sea's sword

Waves are the sea's pen

Dawn full of waves

 

Waves waves waves

Inside you inside me

Waves

Dreams

That waves bear

Heads

With dreams chopped off 

 

Waves under watch!

Dreams that waves bear under watch!

The soft breeze like sitar music

That shows love for the waves under watch!

 

My translation of the Telugu poem 'alalu', from the collection of poetry 'Sivasagar Kavitvam', by K. G. Satyamurthy ('Sivasagar').

Written in May, 1971.

The poet says:

I recited this poem on the Visakhapatnam beach, standing in front of the roaring sea, in protest against the increased surveillance and harassment of members of 'ViRaSam' ('Viplava Rachayitala Sangham' or 'Revolutionary Writers' Association').'Waves' ('alalu' in Telugu) are the people, revolutionary poets. 'Dreams' ('kalalu' in Telugu) are the symbols of the revolution. 'Soft breeze like sitar music' is the people's revolutionary movementWaves are also revolutionary squads. The 'clay footed great demon' is imperialism. 

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