English Poems

I have said little

I have said little
Like the clouds gathering slowly
With water secretly rising up the riverside
I have said little
Like the dim lights simmering
At a mofussil town
I have said as little
As one can
When meeting after a long interlude
I have said little
Much less than the width
Of a winter river
I have said little
Like a buoy floating
little above water
I have said so little
Did not have much space either
Days and nights are also small
I have said little
So that the silence in between
Is translated well
I have said so little
That there is not much scope
for misunderstanding
How much more
Does one need to say
When you profess love

Censored

He is presiding over the show

Knows he will be pulled down if he chooses to speak out

Instead he bends  down 

To ensure the light on his face

He is the Chairman, always alert

Avoids placing his voice

That might take away his chair

He is the Chief Guest

Never takes the floor

Aware that his position is too fragile  to take such risks

She is the head of various committee

Extremely careful

Knows  when not to react

To keep the her shelter intact

He is the Chief  of a sub committee

Knows the game only too well

Wears sunglasses to not to look through disturbing  visuals

The activist remains tongue tied

Her  revolts have long since withered away

I am one of those ordinary people

Who observe everything from the shadow of light

Outside the well- lit stage

Neither do I have a stage, a chair or a subcommittee 

Nor a sunglass

But I enjoy the freedom of a blossoming flower

Still  I remain scared, if not raising the voice

Takes that right away

For the sake of Love

The conditions that I once set for love
Are being used by others now

I found India setting the same terms
In discussions with Russia
America with Guatemala
Anuradha ‘s aunt was laying down
The same conditions for her housemaid
Rashmi had to deal with the same ones
In her new job
But all these conditions were mine
That was stored only for love

The conditions that I once set for love
I find all those are being misused by others
So now there are no more conditions left in my love
You can easily come over one day
And check for yourself

All About Umbrellas

Do you use umbrellas?
Think umbrellas are auspicious to civilization
Capable of protecting you from
The everchanging weather?
 
Are you suspicious of the colour of umbrellas
Believe that a red one  more than a black
Or a green more than a blue
Or even an yellow more than a violet will enrich you
 
Are all your friends sensitive about the virtues of an umbrella?
Admit its necessity
Aware of its right usage ?
Do you enquire on one’s umbrella
Before making friends?
Though the American President and Amulya Adhya use umbrellas of same colour
Their own chemical compositions remain absolutely different
 
But I have always remained apathetic towards the use of umbrellas
Have had no trust in those who use them
Still believe me
I have collected a variety of umbrellas from all over the world
I also have  some idea about repairing them
Don’t try to become intimate with me
Desist from trying to mark me out
Using a terrorist’s umbrella I have noticed
It almost makes me look like the American President

What Am I Doing?

Alexander lived for thirty three years
Kaliprasanna Sinha only till thirty one
Bhola master of our locality in his seventies
Used to practise yoga clad in shorts and a sleeveless vest

But what am I doing?

Sisir Kumar Bhaduri when he was thirty two
had produced the famous play “Sita”
Nikunja Pramanik was featured in every newspaper
After he cycled continuously for eleven days
Our neighbour, the eccentric Naba, was kept confined at home
Used to thumbs down all passers by who crossed his window
But what is my contribution
What am I doing? What? What? How much?

This very thought is nagging me since morning
A narrow lane
Flanked by humans on both sides
None of them are carrying their head on their shoulders
Am I also in that convoy of headless torsos

I’ve tried placing my head on each of these bodies
Through out my life
Checking out which body can carry my head
And make me look like myself

All of a sudden

If I suddenly fall in love all over again
And I in flames, jump into the water
Thinking you to be there
All the water vapourises by the sudden touch of fire
How will you then hide yourself?
If all of a sudden all these premonitions come true?

Spoken words

I have said a lot
Just before sunset
So much was not necessary
Folks might get me wrong
I have spoken a lot.
So much utterances before sunrise
Seem superfluous
To people, and even to me.
I have spoken such a lot
Have I been able to get across
My thoughts?

Are you scared?

All that I possessed and kept with myself
Is washed away in water
Now I’m staying with you
All by myself, with you
Alone, yes alone, by myself
Now the rain is lashing randomly
Someone has arrived at my door
Suddenly the day is over
Now I have to ask you
Are you scared?

Destiny

  A touch is  hidden within the cloud
The desires are thickening on the fingers
Someone is hiding behind the shadow
And breaking the water-column again and again
 
Maybe a teenager has stolen a piece of cloud
For you, and is going somewhere.
Unbeknownst to him
He has grown old walking.
The cloud only knows
Whose age has advanced in secret. 
 
A touch, stolen behind the clouds,
Still accepts the wetness of the air.

If you live in love


In my brief political life
The select few who I thought were real friends
Were not vegetarians
Loved music
Even few kept cats as pets

That we could come close
Was not because we had identical political thoughts
Or, that we all preferred mountains in our leisure trips
Some loved forests, some even river banks
Pork roast was a favourite of few, while tandoori chicken was the preferred dish of many
Even though my choice remained beef steak

We went bear hunting in the monsoons
Winter was the season for classical music
We debated on political observations during our holidays
Still we remained friends
Only affection bonding us together
As we loved each others’ beliefs
So did we respect their disbeliefs too
In my brief political life
I have realized
Real friendship
Emanates only from love

Translated by Barnali Roy

14th May, 1988

Not the time which is grim acing at me while passing by
Not even my child who is slowly growing up
To become my adversary
I want to position a red rose in front of your raised Stein gun
And say: Fire
 
I know, one by one all your fingers will drop dead
The Stein gun will turn stone
Your arrogance will learn  to march in humility
Bow down before a red rose
 
Tomorrow at dawn the Russians will start retreating from the border
Staying awake all night I have removed the barbed wire
Instead I have placed red roses on each post
So that when their rifles come down
On the land of Afghanistan for the first and last time
They will kneel down to pray before the red roses
And say: Forgive
 
That’s why
Not anything else, I want to place just red roses in front
Of your raised Stein guns
And say: Fire14th May, 1988
 

All Of A Sudden

If I suddenly fall in love all over again
And I in flames, jump into the water
Thinking you to be there
All the water evaporates by the sudden touch of fire
How will you then hide yourself?

If all of a sudden all these premonitions come true?

Noiseless

The dam breaks down in high tide
In the wee hours of the morning making a roaring noise
The break of dawn is shattered by
The sound of an old house crashing down in torrential rain
An international flight comes down
In an alien land, making a deafening noise
Suddenly a glassbowl slips from the hand
And comes apart with a cracking noise
A mother breaks down on her child s death,
With a mournful cry, a suffocating noise
A brilliant stage performance prompts lot of claps,
A thunderous applause, reverberating noise

Living together for a long time, one day
The relationship is pulled apart
Noiselessly