Dr Rati Saxena is an eminent Hindi poet, translator and Sanskrit scholar. She has authored four collections of poems in Hindi (Maya mahathagini, ajanmi kavita ki kokh se, Sapane Dekhata Samudra and Ek khirki and aath salaakhen) and Two in English ( The Serpent Quailing Woman Body and One Window and Eight Bars) and Malayalam (in translation). Besides, she has written several research articles on Vedic literature and Indology and published critical studies. Her poems are translated into different languages. Rati Saxena's poetry appeared in various journals of other parts of the world like -Verasal (Amsterdam, Netherlands and printed in Prague), Edgar Literary Magazine (Texas) and gumball poetry, etc. Thus establishing a sound reputation as an academic critic, Rati Saxena has translated 9 books from Malayalam into Hindi. Translations of some of the most well-known Malayalam poems and novels have earned her nation-wide honour and recognition. She has written a book on a famous poet of Malayalam, Balamaniyamma. Among the several awards she has received, the most coveted is the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation in 2000. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Indira Gandhi National Culture and Arts Fellowship.

3. Words

I wish to grow words

unlike fruits

unlike Vegetation

or flower pad

Like jungle

Tall---short

Crooked---banded

Weak - strong

Words

Grow as tress

Spread as grass

Climb as climber

Bloom as flowers

Ripe as fruits

A bird with yellow beak

will fly- will hop

will sing-will dance

until I change into

Words

Not jungle

4. Time

All those sins

I am trying to forget,

piled on my back

growing as mountain

Now I am

a snail

slow, slow and slow

Time is changing

I look at the mirror

The Calendar is

only an echo of figures

Embracing the umbilical cord

I want to sleep

in the womb

of eternity

So?

should I pass again through

pangs of pains?

Every one in search of

a flute

to entice

all the rats

Chinese astrology

says

this is the year of the rat

I offer my karma

to astrologers

now they tell me

all about my

eating, drinking and sleeping

where is my upper part

above the neck?

marmalade in golden jar

time is making it thick

spoonful

rolls on my tongue

I savour it

as your memory.

if this door disappears

we will be in front of

each other again

is this a Time?

the whip is sharp

the marks are painful

he came to me

with a soft touch

pain gone

is this a Time?