Let's go to Tahiti

Let's go to Tahiti
(Ta hi ti thwa ya aung)
(poet's escapism)

Mango flowers
Withered and ruffle down red yellow
Shuffle low around water boundary
Scuttle down along sea domain
Tahiti is its name.

Oh...look around
Worn down by sun
Stunned hidden mango leaves
Bleached and clad in toto Gauguin red
Fed Tahiti pleased.

On that island...
Bland preaches and damned speeches
Grand political niches are banned.

Of human life
Superficial luxury and rites
Invented humour to romantic strifes
Devoid of movie and likes.

Grandmother's nagging
Never ending ever hacking
Her swearings were lacking
Nesting birds' chirping
Heard charming lurking.

Under the mosses and ferns
You can toss and darn snakes
Make great fun and raids.

Champagne and wine altogether
Disdained defined for coconut water
A drink powers you drunk
No bother, slumber on sand as bunk.

If hungry
Ferry the branch of bananas
Parry the covering skins asunder
Devour vitamins, minerals and nutria
Eat to your content altogether.

Anything more?
Oh, cool and quiet under the bough
So are we duo hand in hand?
Or tend to sing at liberty
At loud voice until shrill and soliloquy!

What more you want?
Under the cool and quiet bough
Kept eyes half-closed so
Romantise and find rhymes
Lie for poetry and crazy times.

How are you, May?
Away from pretentious men
Let's tend towards the island
Hand in hand, then, "tell me when?".

Dagon Taryar (Shumawa magazine 1949)
Translation by Dr. Maung Maung Nyo

photo credit