I would watch the colorful celebrations of love among people,
losing myself for a moment in dramas, in films, in tales of fantasy.
I deeply felt the absence of a woman’s affection,
and from the days of youth, my heart knew only the hunger for love.
I would wonder, if only I too had a beloved.
I would ache in sorrow,
not knowing the taste of hearing “I love you” from her lips!
Perhaps the Creator heard my quiet plea,
for one day, He graced my life with the triumph of love.
After higher secondary, when time was in my hands,
that was when I met the Flower Maiden.
At first, only words were exchanged,
then came knowing, understanding,
until at last, love blossomed
a union of hearts playing their sweetest game.
And when the Flower Maiden would whisper in her tender voice, I love you,
it felt as though the thirst of many lifetimes was finally quenched in that very moment.
Flowers bloomed within my heart,
and I too would glow with a joy beyond measure.
But I, the eldest son of a struggling family,
left my homeland in search of livelihood.
I promised her I would return,
and she said she would wait, even a lifetime if it must be,
for love is never false.
Quarrels, pride, and stubbornness,
they are the nature of both people and love.
If a single day passed without her voice,
it felt as though the sky collapsed upon me.
Misunderstandings and grievances would bring us pain,
yet one heartfelt call for forgiveness was enough to mend the bond and weave us close again.
At last, the destined hour arrived,
the day we were bound in marriage.
On that day, I held a priceless jewel in my hands,
so overwhelmed with joy that I stood in speechless wonder.
We vowed to be together for life,
to grow old side by side,
to remain forever one another’s own.
The Flower Maiden kept her promise,
and I too, in the love of my Flower Maiden,
have lived out an entire lifetime.