Krishnakali

In the village they call her the dark girlbut to me she is the flower

On a cloudy day in a fieldI saw the dark girl's dark gazelle-eyes.

She had no covering on her head,her loose hair had fallen on her back.

Dark?

However dark she be,

I have seen her dark gazelleeyes.

Two black cows were lowing,as it grew dark under the heavy clouds.

So with anxious, hurried steps,the dark girl came from her hut.

Raising her eyebrows toward the sky,she listened a moment to the clouds' rumble.

Dark?

However dark she be,

I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.

A gust of the east windrippled the rice plants.

I was standing by a ridge,alone in the field.

Whether or not she looked at

Is known only to us two.

Dark?

However dark she be,

I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.

This how the Kohldark cloudrises in the northeast in Jaistha;the soft dark shadowdescends on the Tamal grove in Asharh;and sudden delight floods the heartin the night of Sravan.

Dark?

However dark she be,

I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.

To me she is the flower Krishnakali,whatever she may be called by others.

In a field in Maynapara villageI saw the dark girl's dark gazelle-eyes.

She did not cover her head,not having the time to feel embarrassed.

Dark?

However dark she be,

I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.