Poem

Kanaka Ha. Ma.

Side by side

DAWN

Just another night, that’s me 
Lying on my left side 
Pregnant with day
Dreams are stars, constellations, galaxies …
My entire body, the banal biography of earth 
I turn over on my right and rise —
An eastern dawn                                   
Unfurls, 
Luminous as the flower 
Of Padmanabha’s navel

Padmanabha: Lord Vishnu from whose navel the lotus flower is believed to emerge

DAWN

Kanaka Ha. Ma.

(India, 1964)

Kanaka Ha. Ma. (born 1964) is a critically acclaimed Kannada poet. Based in Mumbai, she has authored three volumes of poetry: Holebagilu (1993); Papanashini (1997); and Arabi kadalu (2006). Her Kannada translation of Javed Akhtar’s Urdu poetry appeared in a volume entitled Battalike in 2003. She has also been active as a theatre actor and freelance journalist for Kannada magazines and journal...

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Poems of Kanaka Ha. Ma.

DAWN

Just another night, that’s me 
Lying on my left side 
Pregnant with day
Dreams are stars, constellations, galaxies …
My entire body, the banal biography of earth 
I turn over on my right and rise —
An eastern dawn                                   
Unfurls, 
Luminous as the flower 
Of Padmanabha’s navel

DAWN

Just another night, that’s me 
Lying on my left side 
Pregnant with day
Dreams are stars, constellations, galaxies …
My entire body, the banal biography of earth 
I turn over on my right and rise —
An eastern dawn                                   
Unfurls, 
Luminous as the flower 
Of Padmanabha’s navel