Where Mirrors Are Windows

Where Mirrors Are Windows

                                -A.K.Ramanujan

A snake-charmer and his noseless wife,

snake on hand, walk carefully

trying to read omens

for a son's wedding, 

but they meet head-on 

a noseless woman, 

and her snake-charming husband,

and cry, 'The omens are bad!' 

His own wife has no nose; 

there's a snake in his hand. 

What small I call such fools 

who do not know themselves.

About the Poet: 

Attipatte Krishnaswami Ramanujan (1929-1993) is an Indian poet, scholar, philologist, linguist, folklorist, translator and playwright. His academic research ranged across English, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit.Ramajunan's poems are remembered for the startling originality, sophistication and moving artistry. Ramanujan has been awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in 1976 and MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1983.He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award posthumously in 1999 for The Collected Poems.