Our Mother is your mother.
Our father is your father.
You are our precious soul, right?
In our world, who else is kind?
You said you are the salt
in the surging ocean waters.
You declared you are the shining light.
We simple ones want to place
soft white rice in your mouth.
Come, we’ll play in the little houses,
fixing them with fine sand from the Kavery river.
Our Lord and our King
with a straight sceptre,
don’t destroy our little houses.
Holy one who flows with clear honeyed Tamil,
don’t destroy our little houses.
Translated from the Tamil by Paula Richman