Mahfil, vol. 1, no. 2 3 Kedar Nath Singh (195^-) N'£W DAY Someone Has laid this new day at my door Like a letter bearing a strange and distant postmark, Its virginal envelope sealed With a sign of auspicious turmeric. Come, let me "break the seal. Come, do not hesitate; open and read. This errant message must not go, Like so many others before it, unheeded. Here, in this tremulous morning light, It waits on your doorstep, calm and quiet, Inviting, asking you to know Its secret ~ golden secret of a blossoming day. 0 do not delay! But a small question like a nagging child Comes prattling along the street and grasps my hand. Who knows What language waits within? Who knows for certain whose Message was laid in the ghostly hours before dawn Afc the wrong door? I do not find My own address. No, nor my name. Alas, How dare I break the seal? This hand Which opened the door, opened horizons in all directions. Why does it hesitate now on the verge of revelation? Why Not break this auspicious seal of a new sun's rays? God only can say. (Trans. by M. Halpern & V. N. Misra)