TRANSLATED FROM THE TAMIL BY SHERWIN RODRIGUEZ

poem 1
I was a young hunter then,
my feet had not hardened enough
to run after animals.
I would shoot catapults at birds,
carry prey home.
Once, my father left me
with the monitor lizards
and returned home.
This forest was made of trees then.
I did not know the way back
and fell asleep looking
into the eyes of the lizard.
The Babul tree that roused me
with its falling seeds
suddenly looked like my father.
I embraced it and cried.
Elay Pangali,
Will the stomachs of those who ate these trees
Digest the bones of this forest?

poem 2
Our noses are important while hunting.
Hounds are not enough to sniff out the forest.
Like our spears, our noses too
must be sharpened and ready.
One scent for animals, another for tubers
One for insects and worms
One for each bird
One for fish, another for honey.
Before entering the forest, stand at its edge
and inhale deeply.
The forest will send some odours and say:
Today, these are your prey.
Follow those odours.
Elay Pangali,
Nudge the pale yellow flower inside our heads
and release the hidden prey’s odour.

Also, read Three Tamil Poems by Mounan Yathrika, translated from The Tamil by Sherwin Rodriguez and published in The Antonym:

Three Tamil Poems— Mounan Yathrika

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