gulab khandelwal selected poems

If we two alone remained on a secluded island
Even then,
Will it be necessary to express our feelings
Through silent gestures?

The double and treble rows
Of palm and coconut trees, in the evening,
The silver-shining springs
And the twinkling stars,
Will they not inspire us
To swim like fish, uninhibited in the waves?

Some thing untold from the silent eyes
Remains hidden to-day,
The heart, watched by multitudes,
Quivers and continues to be silent.
Ah, sometimes at least, we should bear
The thrashings of the winds together
Grasping each other in tight embrace.

The vagabond air will rattle among the leaves,
The villain moon will sometimes cross us.
Still, who can stop two languishing hearts
From uniting there !
Let these walls, that stand between us,
Disappear sometimes.

If we two remain on a secluded island,
Even then, will it be necessary
To express our feelings

Through silent gestures?