Mermaid Spell by Fanitsa Petrou
Distracted in her sadness, the girl
took her child and boarded a train
meaning to get off
at the station called happiness
The station came, she got off too
but the happiness she desired
had turned for her
into an impenetrable sadness
the sight of which filled her with such agony
that she took her child and boarded a train
to get off at the station called sadness
which was where she had started
~ Rahul Soni
Rahul Soni is a writer, editor and translator. He has edited ‘Home from a Distance’ (Pratilipi Books, 2011), an anthology of Hindi Poetry in English translation, and translated Magadh (Almost Island Books, 2013), a collection of poems by Shrikant Verma, and ‘The Roof beneath Their Feet’ (HarperCollins, 2013), a novel by Geetanjali Shree.Â
दà¥à¤– में गाफिल उस यà¥à¤µà¤¤à¥€ ने बचà¥à¤šà¥‡ को गोद में लिया
और रेल में बैठगई सà¥à¤– के सà¥à¤Ÿà¥‡à¤¶à¤¨ पर उतरने के लिà¤
सà¥à¤Ÿà¥‡à¤¶à¤¨ à¤à¥€ आया वह उतरी à¤à¥€ वहाà¤
मगर चाहा गया सà¥à¤–
उसके लिठघना दà¥à¤– बना बैठा था
जिससे मिलकर वह यातना से इतना à¤à¤° गई
कि उसने बचà¥à¤šà¥‡ को गोद में लिया
और रेल में बैठगई
दà¥à¤– सà¥à¤Ÿà¥‡à¤¶à¤¨ पर उतरने के लिà¤
जहाठसे वह रेल में चढ़ी थी
~ Prahbat
Prabhat (born 1972) is the author of ten books for children, including ‘Kalibai’, ‘Banjara Namak Laya’ and ‘Paniyon Ki Gadiyon Mein’. His poems have appeared in Hans, Kathadesh, Pratilipi, Tadbhav, Poetry International Web, Vagarth, Aalochana, Samkaleen Bharatiya Sahitya and elsewhere. His first collection of poems is forthcoming.Â
