Kannada original: ಕಡೇ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಸಾಲು kade: naalku saalu
Poet: Uma Mukunda
Translated into English by S. Jayasrinivasa Rao
THE LAST FOUR LINES
Sun-blazing afternoon
Sound of the door bell
Four more lines to finish the story.
I finish writing, then
I open the door
I see the visitor
walking back.
Looks just like our neighbour
but a stranger
I stood and watched
till he disappeared
Who had come?
Why did he come?
Car in the porch
An unopened door
What would he have thought?
I should have
called out
called him in
given him something to drink
sat and listened to him
As I closed the door
and opened the book
the last four lines
had vanished.
*****
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