The Flight

I became confined within myself,

The birds that left their nests have now returned.

A little chick looked straight at the morning sun,

The distant mountain drew closer,

And the sense of kinship grew even deeper.

These days, I like my city very much—

The roads moving on the path of development.

For the displaced people,

Hearing “Housing for all, a tap in every home, and water in every tap,”

I felt immense joy.

To find oneself within oneself is what life is.

To be able to forever hold onto the relationships

That gradually connect over time is what life is.

To give someone a little space in your heart is kinship,

And to not let a single tear drop from someone’s eye

Is perhaps what love is.

I do not know any other meaning of love,

I do not know whom I will fall in love with.

I cannot tell the address of a lover’s eyes,

I cannot tell why sleep vanishes

At the sound of someone’s anklets.

I cannot tell how much intimacy lies

In a lover’s tight embrace.

I do not know if a lover’s smile brings liberation or bondage,

Desire, or merely an illusion.

I only wish that there be a path to liberation,

That there be a thought of living and letting others live.

Whether love happens or not,

May the bird of love and well-wishes

Forever take flight

In the open sky.

— Ratnamaya Tripathy

Adhyayana, Balangir

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Original Odia : Ratnamaya Tripathy

Translated by : Dr. Khyatimaya Tripathy