Munni ne ugaya ek daanth
Phir do aur chaar aur phir paanch
Aur phir wo chahe choosna ganna apne aap
turanth hi seekhegi wo kuch bol
Aur chhalti jayegi apni hi ek dagar
Tumhare or tumhari patni ke kesh hue shwet
Hriday mein paschataap kintu kinchit nahin
Aakhir pita ka dayitva hi toh nibhaya
Thak chuke hain charan tumhare, ho rahi hai saanjh
Aur bitiya tumhari ho gayi badi
The original
A little tooth
by Thomas Lux
Your baby grows a tooth, then two,
and four, and five, then she wants some meat
directly from the bone. It's all
over: she'll learn some words, she'll fall
in love with cretins, dolts, a sweet
talker on his way to jail. And you,
your wife, get old, flyblown, and rue
nothing. You did, you loved, your feet
are sore. It's dusk. Your daughter's tall.
****
From New and Selected Poems, 1975-1995, published by Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
Phir do aur chaar aur phir paanch
Aur phir wo chahe choosna ganna apne aap
turanth hi seekhegi wo kuch bol
Aur chhalti jayegi apni hi ek dagar
Tumhare or tumhari patni ke kesh hue shwet
Hriday mein paschataap kintu kinchit nahin
Aakhir pita ka dayitva hi toh nibhaya
Thak chuke hain charan tumhare, ho rahi hai saanjh
Aur bitiya tumhari ho gayi badi
The original
A little tooth
by Thomas Lux
Your baby grows a tooth, then two,
and four, and five, then she wants some meat
directly from the bone. It's all
over: she'll learn some words, she'll fall
in love with cretins, dolts, a sweet
talker on his way to jail. And you,
your wife, get old, flyblown, and rue
nothing. You did, you loved, your feet
are sore. It's dusk. Your daughter's tall.
****
From New and Selected Poems, 1975-1995, published by Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
