அரளியாட்டம் (Daffodils)

 

அலைந்தேன் தனியாய் மேகமாக

மலைக்கும் மடுவுக்கும் மேலாக

பார்த்து வியந்தேன் கூட்டமாக

பூத்திருந்ததே பேரரளி பாட்டமாக

மரங்களினடியில் நீரின் கரையில்

குலுங்கியே ஆடின மென்காற்றில்

தொடர்ந்து மின்னும் விண்மீன்கள்

பால்வெளிவீதியில் ஒளிர்வதுபோல்

எண்ண முடியாத வரிசையில்

தொடர்ந்தே காண்கிறேன் கரையினில்

ஆயிரக்கணக்காய் ஒரு கணத்தில்

தலையாட்டுகின்றனவே மயக்கத்தில்

அலைகளும் கூட ஆடினவே

அரளிகள் அவற்றை மீறினவே

காணா நண்பனைக் கண்டதுபோல்

கவிஞன் மனமும் களிப்புறுதே

காணக் காண ஆனந்தம்

காட்சியின் செறிவோ பிரம்மாண்டம்

படுக்கையில் கிடந்தே மெளனியாய்

வெறுமையை எண்ணித் தவிக்கையில்

குறும்பாய் கண்ணைச் சிமிட்டியே

தனிமையையும் இனிமையாய் மாற்றிடுதே

பேரின்பம் நிரம்பிய இதயமது

அரளிகளோடு ஆடும் அரங்கமிது.

===

Oct 8, 2021

சற்றே பெரிய பின்னூட்டம்:

Daffodils என்ற ஆங்கிலக் கவிதையை நண்பர் ஒருவர் பகிர்ந்து, அதனை மொழிபெயர்க்கும் போட்டியாகவும் வைத்தார்.  அந்தோ! நானும் அவரும் மட்டும்தான் பங்கு கொண்டோம்.  மெத்தத் தமிழ் ஞானம் பெற்ற அவருடைய கவிதை இதோ :

பள்ளத் தாக்கில் பலகுன்றில்
பதமாய் மிதக்கும் முகிலைப்போல்
மெள்ள அலைந்த ஒருநாளில்
மேவக் கண்டேன் மலர்க்கூட்டம்
உள்ளம் மொள்ளும் விருந்தாக
உறுமோர் ஏரி மரத்தடியில்
துள்ளும் மஞ்சள் நிறப்பூக்கள்
துள்ளி நடனம் புரிந்தனவே

தொடர்ந்தே ஒளிரும் தாரகைகள்
தோன்றிச் சிமிட்டும் பால்வெளியாய்ப்
படர்ந்து வரையில் வரிசையதாய்
பரவிப் பெருகும் வளைவோரம்
விடுத்த விழிப்பார் வையதனில்
வியப்பாய்ப் பதினா யிரம்பூக்கள்
படபட வெனவே தலையசைத்து
பளீரென் ஆடடுதல் பார்த்தனனே

மின்னலை பின்புல நடமதனை
மிஞ்சின மஞ்சள் மலரிணரே
பன்னிடும் பாவலன் ஒருவனுக்குப்
பரிவாய் இன்பம் அளிக்குமன்றோ
உன்னிநான் உற்றுநான் பார்த்துமவை
உகப்பாய்க் கொணரும் சொத்தளவை
எண்ணியும் பார்த்திலேன் அத்துணையும்
இதமாய் மீண்டும் பார்க்கின்றேன்

சிந்தனை மிகுந்தோ வெறுமையாலோ
செயலின்றிப் படுக்கையில் கிடந்தபோது
வந்தெனை நிறைக்கும் உள்ளுணர்வோ
வருகின்ற தனிமைப் பெருமகிழ்வே
தந்தநன் மகிழ்வால் என்னிதயம்
தனத்தன்ன லயத்தால் நடமிடுதே
அந்தநாள் முகிலாய் ஓரியனாய்
அலைந்தேன் மகிழ்ந்தேன் மலரிணரால்

The original English poem, by William Wordsworth, and its background:

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

=================

 The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.
See
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

Daffodil garden is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ...

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....

Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married

Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die..

There is no better time than right now to be happy .

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money.
Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching.

If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special.

I just did!

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!