You shroud us
in magic.
Wrapping you around us,
we vanish,
one by one.

You alone
can unravel
life’s tight knots.

You are not
slumber,
but an awakening.

Eternal life begins
for all
who embrace you.

O death,
who ends all our deaths,
Come,
beloved guest.

All of us
wait
to receive you,
serving our lives.

© KTM Iqbal. Translation © 2016 by Kavitha Karuum. All rights reserved. Translated as part of Translators Lab 2015, co-organized by The Select Centre and Writers’ Centre Norwich. The Tamil-to-English track was facilitated by Subashree Krishnaswamy and Lakshmi Holmstrom.