Kokkadichcholai 166 + : A poem in Thamil translated
The following is a translation of a poem written in Thamil by Nadchathiran Chevvinthiyan, a Lankan now abroad. The English version by K.S. Sivakumaran appeared in the Sunday Leader of August 29, 1995.
Kokkadichcholai 166 +
Today's Headlines:
166+Thamilians horribly killed
In Kokkadichcholai
It doesn't stir me.
There'll be no exam
Tomorrow too
I'll study tonight
What horrible things.
Feelings didn't ooze
Hiccuping
Which back door
Would you have thought
About at that time?
If things happen like this
In your house too
If you stand in
Sun or shade
In your heat-wave street?
Dog turd crumbles and
Flows away on rainy days
If things like this happen
In your street
Which back door is open
For You?
Those adult males are
Crying in suffocation
As if they're laughing
They cry with tears
Falling on hairy chests
And on black and white
Moustaches with remnants
Of toddy on them
K.S. Sivakumaran can be reached at: sivakumaranks@yahoo.com
