Thursday, 30 January 2025

IDENTITY CARD (Poem) by S Joseph

IDENTITY CARD by S Joseph

Translated by K. Satchidanandan


In my student days
a girl came laughing

Our hands met mixing
her rice and fish curry

On a bench we became 
a Hindu-Christian family

I whiled away my time
reading Neruda’s poetry;
and meanwhile I misplaced 
my Identity Card.

She said,
returning my card: 
'the account of your stipend
is entered there in red’

These days I never look at 
a boy and a girl lost in themselves. 
They will part after a while.
I won't be surprised even if they unite. 
Their Identity Cards
won't have markings in red. 

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