Mira at the Market
translated from the Braj Bhasha by Chloe Martinez
Listen, friend: I went and bought god for myself.
You say I did it on the sly. I say I announced it with drums!
I decided what he was worth to me.
You say he was expensive. I say: a bargain, check the scale.
Oh my friend, I paid for the beloved. Now he’s mine.
I made an offer: my body, my life. Cheap at the price.
Understand: he’s with me now. Bought and paid for.
Mira’s lord: show yourself. I claim you in every rebirth.
[untitled]
माई री म्हा लियाँ गोविन्दाँ मोल ॥
थे कह्याँ छाणे म्हाँ काचोड्डे लियाँ बजन्ता ढोल।
थें कह्याँ मुँहौधौ म्हाँ कह्याँ सुस्तो, लिया री तराजां तोल।
तण वाराँ म्हाँ जीवन वाराँ वाराँ अमोलक मोल।
मीराँ कूँ प्रभु दरसण दीज्याँ पूरब जणम को कोल॥
Copyright © 2026 by Chloe Martinez. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 22, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets.
“When I try to summarize this poem’s concerns, I’m startled by how much it accomplishes in a small space. Mira speaks of her devotion to god as if it were a bit of haggling at the local market, and in doing so, undermines conventional notions of ownership and value. She also rejects the expectation that a woman should be quiet, modest, and deferential. Other binaries upended along the way: body/soul, worldly/transcendent, scarcity/plenitude, public/private. The poem’s first line, which would be repeated as a refrain when sung, is here italicized and offered in four translations, each giving different shades of meaning.”
—Chloe Martinez
Mirabai
