Better keep one’s distance
Than love and part—
especially if one can’t manage
seizures of passion.
Make love, get close, ask for more—
but it’s hard to separate and burn.
Gaze and open your eyes to desire,
then you can’t bear to shut it out.
Better keep one’s distance
The first tight embrace is easy,
but later you can never let go.
Begin your love talk—
once hooked, you can never forget.
Better keep one’s distance
Twining and joining, you can laugh;
soon you can’t hide the love in your heart.
Once the lord of the Lady on the Flower
has made love to you
you can no longer say
it was this much and that much.
Better keep one’s distance
Translated from the Telugu by A.K. Ramanujan, Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman