THE GATE KEEPER

 

                  

                                                          

                                      

              Despite so many colors on the screen

              None of them added color to your life;

              Despite so many grand scenes and splendid sights

              Nothing will lend their splendor to your life;

              Standing erect like a pole as if penalized for life

              Punching tickets seems only your life-line;

              Your anxious eyes with keen desire

              Look at the technicolored scenes

              And dream in vain of such happy days;

              Your eyes have turned dim with waiting

              Fringed with filmy despair;

              Just like the tickets you tear

              Your life has been torn—

              A dreary confusion;

              You escort the late comers to their seats

              With your torch light;

              Alas! For you none shows

              The seat: a pitiful plight.

                      ***************

    Telugu original: A. Surya Prakash; 

    Translated by:   Solmaseshu Gutala

                             9th November 2024