Inside the river are the sky,
the cloud, the cold sun.
cupped in my hands the river.

If I throw up my hands,
the river spills in drops, scattering
sky, cloud, and sun all over me.

If I drink the river from my hands
then within me are
the sun, the cloud, the sky.

Tell me then, who is in whom?
Translated from Kannada by Chitra Panikkar with the poet