by M.Mohankumar
The king is shocked by the news. He rages.
How could the queen do this to him,
she who is so dear to him, like Rohini to the Moon,
carrying on so brazenly with a man about town,
exchanging intimacies in public, bringing
shame on him and the whole royal family?
‘Let them be drowned,’ he orders.
And so they are thrown into a huge tank;
but they splash about merrily and swim ashore.
Trampled by elephants, they remain unhurt.
Whipped, they do not wince even once.
‘Burn them to cinders,’ thunders the king.
But the flames do not singe their flesh.
As he looks on, amazed, they say to him,
’We are absorbed In each other; so absorbed
the mind stands like Mount Meru, blocking
all sensations.’ And the king, realising
his limitation, leaves them to their own devices.
Mohankumar has published seven volumes of poetry in English. His poems have appeared in almost all reputed literary magazines in print in India. His first collection of short stories in English will be brought out by Authorspress, Delhi shortly. Mohankumar retired as Chief secretary to Government of Kerala.
