Poems
A Desire in the Bangles
by Gagan Gill
A desire is in the girl’s bangles:
first they will break on his bed
then on the threshold of his house.
But why on the threshold?
Because in the girl there is a woman
mourning — who is not yet
a widow
but a widow to be.
The girl’s fear throbs in her veins
as far as her bangles
The girl’s desire throbs in them
The girl’s mourning throbs in them
Mourning?
Where is the girl’s man
for whom mourning runs in her veins
for whom desire is in her bangles?
Her man is caught
in some other body
some other dream
sorrow, other tears
His every sorrow, dream, tear
is beyond the reach of the mourning girl…
But the girl is only a girl
in her is that primal innocence,
madness, death,
whose punishment
she will give to that man
one day
when she will break her bangles…
Notes
A Hindu woman wears glass bangles as a sign of marriage and must break these when she becomes a widow.
Poem from Ek din lautegi larki (One day the girl will return).
The original version of this poem is written in Hindi. The literal translation of this poem was made by Lucy Rosenstein. The final translated version of the poem is by Jane Duran.
Other poems by Gagan Gill that we have helped to translate are Child, Go Home, You Will Turn in Your Sleep, Here and Mourning Kanjikaa.
You can find out more about the translation process on this website. You can also add your own comments on this poem here and read what others have said.
We have media featuring the poet Gagan Gill. Additionally there are details available about 'Found In Translation' by Richard Lea, another one of our events that Gagan Gill was involved in.
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I enjoyed the meaning of this poem. I am presenting it in graduate class.