The Pallor of Longing
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pullik kiṭantēṉ puṭaipeyarntē ṉavvaḷavi / laḷḷikkoḷ vaṟṟē pacappu.
I was lying in his arms and I shifted a little to one side, meaning nothing by it; in that much of a gap the pallor came over me, the way loose grain is scooped up in both hands and poured.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“I lay in his embrace, I turned unwittingly; / Forthwith this hue, as you might grasp it, came on me.”
“I lay in his embrace: I then left him for a while, and behold, pallor swallowed me up, as it were!”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
புல்லிக்கிடந்தேன், புடைபெயர்ந்தேன்= முன்ஒருஞான்று காதலரைப் புல்லிக்கிடந்த யான் அறியாது புடைபெயர்ந்தேன்; அவ்வளவில் பசப்பு அள்ளிக்கொள்வற்றே= அப்புடைபெயர்ந்த அளவிலே பசப்பு அள்ளிக்கொள்வதுபோல வந்து செறிந்தது, எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The woman turns back to a night already past. She was lying in her lover's arms, and without intending anything by it, without even noticing, she shifted a little to one side. It was not a parting; the gap was the width of one small movement. In that much space the colour left her body — not gradually, but all at once, as loose grain is gathered in both hands and poured out. What she is saying is what the change actually needs: not distance, not days, only a gap.