The Prison

"the sea is a prison for the waves,
the beach a prison for the sea,
the fig tree a prison for the birds,
the four quarters are a prison for the day,
the day is a prison for the night,
the sky for the wind, the face for the eyes,
the stomach for hunger,the mind for the thoughts,
the mountain fo the earth,
the picture for the eye,
the soft scent for the nostrils,
the hair for the adorning flower,
every word a prison for the tongue,
your encircling arms are a prison for me:

oh do not open your arms and drive this bird away,
do not let the wings be cut off by the wind
that swallows the waves of the sea,
do not let the skull be split by lightning and thunder,
do not let the bird wander outside the nest of your mind
like and orphan, oh hold him fast,
do not relax your entwining fingers,
hold him, hold him... "

Ayyapa Paniker (B.1930)
Translated from Malayalam