Kannada Poem by K.V. Thirumalesh (1978)
Translation by C.P. Ravikumar (1991)
1
A fat cat entered my living room,
saw me, and stopped.
He did not expect me, perhaps.
Not on a Monday morning,
when every one is busy at work.
The cat looked at me with impatience.
We stared at one another,
neither of us prepared to turn back.
It was an undeclared war of sorts.
I had no idea
the eyes of a cat are so still.
2
His tail up in the air,
his bristles straight,
his claws dug into the floor,
he looked like a bow set to go.
He occupied my visual territory entirely
as I lost my way in prehistoric lands
and fell into unknown seas.
I did not bat an eye.
He did not bat an eye.
The cat stood in front of me
like a challenge to himself,
in a state special to man and animal.
I had no idea
the eyes of a cat are so orphaned.
3
It was the animal who finally lost.
Or that is what I thought.
The cat unstretched his body and withdrew
and walked away at the pace of a cat.
When he was gone from my territory, I thought
I could have given him his self respect.
After all, what did I gain?
One should win, if at all, like Bahubali
by giving something up.
I had no idea
the eyes of a cat are so regretful.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem