Krishnakali

In the village they call her the dark girl

but to me she is the flower Krishnakali

On a cloudy day in a field

I 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 wind

rippled the rice plants.

I was standing by a ridge,

alone in the field.

Whether or not she looked at me

Is known only to us two.

Dark? However dark she be,

I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.

This how the Kohldark cloud

rises in the northeast in Jaistha;

the soft dark shadow

descends on the Tamal grove in Asharh;

and sudden delight floods the heart

in 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 village

I 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.