On the Road: A Translation

This poem was originally published in Manipuri as Eina Laakpa Lambida in the collection Mei Mamgera Budhi Mamgera by RK Bhubonsana. The book with 55 poems and published in 1999, was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. Read the translation of another poem from the same book Mei Mamgera Budhi Mamgera.

on the road i saw
the flowers lost in their dreams
of drifting like a river
those fragrant flowers
of all hues and shades

on the road i saw
the rivers lost in their dreams
of flitting like the soft breeze
on faces and bodies
and on the charred trees

on the road i saw
the quiet breeze lost in their dreams
of standing like big mountains
in the east and the west
in every direction

on the road i saw
the mountains lost in their dreams
of shining like light from lakes
of being jade forests

Note: The original title Eina Lakpa Lambida can be transliterated as The Road that I Come From. I have the translation of another poem by RK Bhubonsana. Do try it:

Mei Magera Buddhi Mamgera/Get Power Cut or Black Out