Two Poems of Parveen Shakir in Translation

Pink Flowers

In the season of our meeting
I felt pink flowers
blooming in my heart

the wounds of my heart
though healed long ago
the buds are blooming now
you're caring for me again

how long could the
pillars hold the house
shaken in its foundations?

the old strangeness had
prevailed as if we
would never meet again

my body still wanted you though
my feet were covered with bruises.

-tr. Ravi Kopra

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A Message

The same weather,
the laughter of rain
echoes in the trees,
the green branches
laden with golden flowers
are smiling thinking of us,
the breeze is wrapped
in a pale pink scarf
and the garden path
full of fragrance
is looking for us,
the rising moon
is waiting for us.

-tr. Ravi Kopra