With the Monsoon as My Witness

With the monsoon as my witness,

I have finally granted freedom now.

Suppressing all grievances and silent hurts (Abhimana),

I have untied the bonds of an age-old waiting.

I will no longer ask the clouds

The reason behind the delay of your arrival,

Nor will my heart ever again

Be intoxicated by the raw fragrance of the rain-drenched earth.

If you can, spread open both

Your butterfly wings.

The entire vast sky is now open just for you;

Fly around freely until you lose your way.

Even if reluctantly, if sometime

My courtyard happens to catch your eye from the sky,

Come down just once to witness

The austere life of this ascetic (Tapaswi)—

How I pass my days

Just to find the true destination of love.

If you think

That this is merely my false, prideful anger,

Then come and take this oath from me:

This is exactly how it will pass—

My entirely solitary life.

— Ratnamaya Tripathy

Adhyayana, Balangir

Original Odia : Ratnamaya Tripathy

Translated by : Dr. Khyatimaya Tripathy