The Old Earth

( Edited by Joneve Mc Cormick).

In the autumn Mountain forest sheds leaves

Remains of spring fly in hot winds

Watchers of forests Empty their dens

Hunters' footsteps go away

On the slopes of mountains

Gasps of chasing dogs

Die away to distances

Singular rain embraces the earth

Good looking Earth satiates

Monstrous desires hidden in caves

Continents and oceans

Deltas and islands

Rivers and lakes

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Gorges and deserts

Embrace each other, entwined and curled

Bring out the lust of earth.

This enchantress is unable to keep secrets

They flow as if in a blue film

Earth still feels sorrow in her lover

Squeezing breasts tight.

Himalayas and Aravali

Andes and Alps

Rocky and Pyrenees

Mines snow and deodar

Gulgul* and Kanmada**

From the breasts of Earth

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Then the autumn comes to an end

Soil assimilates everything

But man drills holes in the earth

In search of diamonds and petrol

Made of solar power

It's human rapine, sores and scabies

Contracted from illicit connections

Burst and flow

Still this old woman waits for her lovers .

• *Gulgul is a kind of stain emanating from a tree. It is a great medicine in Ayurveda

• **Kanmada is, what should I say, the juice of stones, even granites. It is of immense value, economically and medicinally