Kamala Das’ Verses - I

I’m reading My Story, by Kamala Das. And its a real treat, one that makes me wonder about the Malayalam version that my aunt talks about, as being longer and in 2-volumes. Could this be so?

There are some really delightful verses in many of the chapters, which I’m going to post over the next few days. In case I’m really doing terrible destruction to copyrights, please let me know. It seems unfair that such wonderful verse shouldn’t be as widely seen and read as possible.

From the debris of house-wrecks
Pick up my broken face
Your bride’s face
Changed a little with the years.
I shall not remember
The betrayed honeymoon;
We are both such cynics
You and I.
If loving me was hard then
It’s harder now
But love me one day
For a lark

Love the sixty-seven
Kilogrammes of ageing flesh
Love the damaged liver,
The heart and its ischaemia,
Yes, love me one day
Just for a lark,
Show me how our life would have been
If only you had loved….

Kamala Das, from the book My Story

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You’re currently reading “Kamala Das’ Verses - I,” an entry on the view from the ground

Published:
16.11.05 / 6am
Category:
LifeLine