India, Aug. 16 -- I pull skeins of sleepAnd roll them upTo spread on meAs I lie down to dieLet them smotherDreams and memoriesIn their dark velvetyShrouds, wrapping meOn my wayTo my original home

She waits for meHer long black hair unboundWhich appear to you ascloudsHer warm bosomMelting the ice fence ofKailasamYou perceive to be rainI shall die in DakshinaayanamThe inauspicious timeto goWhere the borrowerMoon holds swayNot the rich Sun whopaysA wavering Moon's debtsIt is okay if I am boundMy flighty mind assteadyAs the time betweenNew Moon and FullMoonDear soft night.

*Thiruvathira Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi is the 12th Princess of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from The S...