The Blue-Eyed Blackbird

Notes

This poem was a real pleasure to translate because it's so powerful. Its images are direct and immediate and we all felt very touched by the poet's vision.

The title in Hindi means 'Saying Something' which (after much discussion) we translated as 'Speaking of Myself'. But then, in email correspondence with Mohan Rana, Sarah asked what he thought about calling the poem 'The Blue-Eyed Blackbird' and he wrote back agreeing with the suggestion. What do you think?

Mohan also wrote that an Australian friend had told him about a real blue-eyed blackbird, called the satin bower bird. Mohan said that, when he wrote the poem, he had no idea that a blackbird with blue eyes actually existed! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Satinbowerbirdmale.jpg