In the novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, the main character Siddhartha creates this poem on the spot for Kamala. Enjoy, Siddhartha is my favorite book. The book was written in German, so these are translations.
"Kamala" (Translators: Gunther Olesch, Anke Dreher, Amy Coulter, Stefan Langer, and Semyon Chaichenets)
Into her shady grove stepped the pretty Kamala,
At the grove's entrance stood the brown Samana.
Deeply, seeing the lotus's blossom,
Bowed that man, and smiling Kamala thanked.
More lovely, thought the young man, than offerings for gods,
More lovely is offering to pretty Kamala.
"Kamala" (Translation by Stanley Appelbaum)
Into her shady grove stepped Kamala,
At the entrance to the grove stood the tanned samana.
When he caught sight of the lotus blossom,
He made a low bow, and Kamala thanked him with a smile.
"More lovely,' thought the young man, 'than sacrifice to the for gods,"
"More lovely it is to sacrifice to the beautiful Kamala."
"Kamala" (Translation by Joachim Neugroschel)
Into her shady grove came beautiful Kamala,
At the entrance stood the brown samana.
Deeply, upon sighting the lotus blossom,
He bowed. Smiling, Kamala thanked him.
Lovelier, thought the youth, than sacrificing to the gods
Lovelier is sacrificing to beautiful Kamala.
I don't like the Kamala thanking him part of the poem. It breaks up the rhythm of the poem. I wonder if it reads like that in German. I've read some other Hesse poetry, and I didn't think much of it.
ReplyDeleteThis poem really needs to the context of the novel. Without Siddhartha's story this is just a pick up line poem.
Another knock on this poem is that Kamala is lotus in Sanskrit, so it's like calling a woman named Rose a rose.