Misery befalls no one
because of a coward
Riots break out nowhere
because of a coward
Nothing gets destroyed
because of a coward
A coward
does not draw his sword
or aim it at a tree
to check its sharpness
Why, a coward has no sword
to begin with
A coward
causes no one to feel fear
A coward
fears darkness
Songs come forth from him
Nature welcomes
a coward
He doesn’t pinch away a leaf
or pluck a flower
Nature embraces
a coward
A mother gathers a terrified child
and suckles it
Nature garlands
a coward
For he steps out only
to feed himself
He stays in and
keeps out of trouble
A coward
also finds it hard
to stay confined
He keeps cleaning up
nooks and corners
You won’t find a coward
in a playground
He never rouses crowds
into hateful nationalist frenzy
A coward
joins no political party,
abides by no ideology,
and is loyal to no leader
A coward
cannot prepare a welcome flyer
he cannot pour milk over big banners
he simply cannot whistle, prance about,
and go out in processions
A coward
steals from no one
He doesn’t stop those
who come to take away his things
A coward
does not attempt to rape anyone
He is also unable to look in stealth
at anyone’s body
A coward
never turns into a murderer
However
he thinks about suicide
And does it, too
— Perumal Murugan
(This is the title poem of Perumal Murugan’s new book of 200 poems, Oru Kozhaiyin Paadalkal, translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan. We offer this also as a tribute to the Madras High Court, which “resurrected” the dead writer and upheld freedom of expression.)
