Translated from the Malayalam by Nithya Mariam John 

Rabbit Farming 

So, I was talking about 
what we’d been engaged in
for the past many years—
the art of rearing rabbits.

When you chose the role of protector,
I was conformed to that of the nurturer.
I grew scutch grass, carrots, and tender feed. 
I also made a grassy mat for them to mate.
You strengthened the boundaries with four thorny fences,
dug pits to catch the ones which might try to escape,
taught them about limits from the time they opened their eyes,
walked through their slumber, and numbered their dreams.

When I sketched a river,
you drew the fangs which died of thirst.
When I painted a tree,
you exposed the ancient scars on the wood.
When I drew birds,
you pointed out the distance.

Yesterday I was banished from there.
The crime was that
I’d narrated the story of the forest
to three missing rabbits.

The original was published in Madhyamam magazine, in January 2019.

Also, read a short story by Tamil writer, Akilan, translated to English by Dr. S. Vincent, published in The Antonym

Then The Flood Came— Akilan

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