வண்ணமிகு நாளங்கள்
ராஜூ ரமேஷ்
காலங் காலமாய் மலர்ந்து விரிகிறது
கடலின் மீதொரு
சிற்றகலாய்ச் சுடரும்
சிறு மலர்
கையளவு வேர்நிலந்தான்
நகக்கணுவளவு வளந்தான்
ஆயினும் அதன்
கட்டற்ற வண்ணமும் வாசமும்
கடலளவு
தேனருந்த அதன் திசை ஏகும்
எத்தனை எத்தனை
எண்திசைத் தேனீக்கள்!
எத்தகைய புயலையும் தாங்கும்
இச்சிறு வனம்
வலசைப் பறவைகளின்
கலங்கரை
கற்பகத்தரு
கழனி செழிப்புற
மண்புழு குடைவதாய்
நிலம் குடைந்தோடும்
ஊதா மஞ்சள் நீலம் பழுப்பென
வண்ணமிகு நாள மண்டலம்
ஒவ்வொரு சுரங்கமும்
உழைப்பின் நவீன ஓவியம்தான்
அதனுள் ஓயாது துடிக்கும்
நிலத்தின் இதயம்
இவ்வபூர்வ மலர்வனத்தின்
வேர்கள்
மண்ணில் மட்டுமல்ல
எம் மனத்துள்ளும்
ஆழப்பதிந்தவை
காலத்தை ஊடுருவி
நீளப்புதைந்தவை
Untitled
Written by Raju Ramesh
Translated by Sulosana Karthigasu
From time immemorial
It grows and thrives,
An iridescent tiny plant
Its delicate flower
Blossoming
Like a little radiant flame
upon the sea
Its roots hugging
Scarcely a handful of earth
Drawn by its nectar
How many, how many bees
From the eight directions
Buzz towards it
This little forest can outlive
The fiercest of storms
A lighthouse for migratory birds
A wish fulfilling Kalpaga tree
Like the earthworms that tunnel
the earth to enrich the paddy fields,
the land ripples and swells
Painting the horizon
Violet, yellow, blue and brown
Every tunnel dug
Is truly a unique painting of labour
Within it beats tirelessly
The heart of the earth
This rare flowering grove’s roots
Sink not only into the ground
But deep into our hearts
Beyond time, eternal.
Raju Ramesh, aged 55 years, is a PR residing in Singapore since year 2000. He is an IT professional working as R&D manager in an MNC in the domain of digital security. He has won honorary prizes in Golden Point Award Tamil poetry competition in the years 2015 and 2017, as well as the first prize in Singapore Poetry Festival in 2016 in Tamil poetry category.
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Poems on the MRT is an initiative by the National Arts Council, in partnership with SMRT and Stellar Ace. Produced by Sing Lit Station, a local literary non-profit organisation, this collaboration displays excerpts of Singapore poetry throughout SMRT’s train network, integrating local literature into the daily experience of commuters. Look out for poems in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil in trains on the East-West, North-South and Circle Lines, as well as videos created by local artists and featuring local poets in stations and on trains. The Chinese, Malay, and Tamil poems are available in both the original languages and English. To enjoy the full poems, commuters may read them on go.gov.sg/potm.