Modern Datu Kalyar1
Padauk2 flowers on my hairs,
her golden yellowish petals
spraying sweet scents
among green leaves,
I wanna wear only Padauk, darling!
The king of Ratu3,
Natshinnaung4,
while camping in front line
for a war,
longingly wished to adorn from afar
his beloved Datu Kalyar
only with golden yellow Padauk
but he had no chance at all
and it made him compose
seasonal verses, darling!
I lead the same life
as Datu Kalyar did.
You, my love,
are an age-long political prisoner.
You are always in the front
of the last remaining men
in jail.
Look there!
Golden yellow Padauks are ready
to elegantly bloom
in a teasing Tagu5 breeze.
But, being confined to a closed cell,
how can you see them,
Oh, dear!
..
Darling!
With the splash of Thingyan shower
new-year Padauks blossom.
I long for the day you yourself can adorn my hairs
with full of Padauks,
When would you come out, darling?
Every year,
I am still meeting you at the gate.
Translation by icy
Notes
1 Datu Kalyar = Yaza Datu Kalyar (1559-1603),Crown Princess of Toungoo and a noted poet as well as the subject of some most beautiful poems by Natshinnaung.
2 Padauk = the gum kino tree and a symbolic flower of Myanmar’s traditional water festival (Thingyan)
3 Ratu = a form Myanmar poetry in lyrical ode on seasons, love and etc.
4 Natshinnaung = Natshinnaung (1579-1613), King of Toungoo and a well-noted poet especially for his Ratus on Datu Kalyar
5 Tagu = the first month of Myanmar calen