Dec 31, 2017

I sit in solitude as the clouds clear

একলা বসে বাদল-শেষে শুনি কত কী
ekla boshe badol sheshe

I sit in solitude as the clouds clear
So much I get to hear
“My time has gone by” says the Ketaki flower

The clouds call out to her
As they retreat to the horizon
Her zeal and zest fade away

She grew in a corner at the edge of the forest
She would tremble at a fleeting sign from a lightning flash
Her fragrance would suffuse a lover’s tryst in the monsoon darkness
Did the evening star ever get to know?

May 2, 2017

When my heart is parched and dry

জীবন যখন শুকায়ে যায়
Jibono jokhono shukaye jay (a rendition in Bangla by Suchitra Mitra)

When my heart is parched and dry
bring your kindness to my side.
Compassion gone from my world
Come to me and sing a song.

Missions call relentlessly
like an endless raving sea.
Come to me, o lord, o love
gentle in your serenity.

In my absence from the world
cornered like a tragic soul
meet my shyness, push my wall
with your true majesty.

Lust and cinder fill my heart
driving me, blinding me.
Light me up with ruthless light
wakeful in your sagacity.

translation - 26 April 2017

(another version by Rumela)

When life is parched and dry
Come unto me streaming with compassion
Obscured, when all goodness
Come unto me with the sweetness of song

When work assuming monstrous proportions
Thunders and crashes enveloping all
Oh Lord of life
Come in with a gentle knock on my heart

Becoming miserly in it’s dealings
Curls up in one corner when this poor heart
Throwing open all doors Oh kindly Lord
Come unto me in royal procession

When the duststorm of desire rising
Blinds the eye and buries the intellect
Oh omniscient Lord

Come to me in fiery enlightenment