Hibiscus on the Lake
By Chavali Bangaramma
(Translated by Velcheru Narayana Rao)

The plant saw the beauty of water,
the flowering plant with bright red flowers.
She told me all about water.

Bending over the water to put on her bottu,
she saw the beauty of water.

I watched the loveliness,
until I fainted.
Snakes like trees ran through the lake.

The plant saw the beauty of water,
the flowering plant with bright red flowers.

The sky saw it all.
It trembled in fear
and fell down on the banks.
Even the sun was scared to look
from the top of the tree.

The plant saw the beauty of water,
the flowering plant with bright red flowers.
She spread out her hair.
Her bottu fell off.
The banks shed tears
and the shore was shaken.

The plant with bright red flowers,
bending, still bending
told me of the beauty of water.

The hibiscus talked to me.