Shabdaguchha

The International Poetry Journal in Bengali and English


Issue 39
Jan-Mar '08

Alfred Khokon

Secret Murmur

The way the sunlight hides under a mantle of shadow,
I, too, do the same.
Sitting in the hidden forest sunlight
I hear the secret murmur of our flesh.
And then, it subsides remembering you.

To quench the thirst, the man who turned into you,
If I see him, I will say all of these.
If I see him, I will ask about the ultimate decay of art.
If I see him, I will sit with him under the sunlight through winter.

If I see him, I will greet him unexpectedly from behind,
And will go to the next village tactfully keeping my pride.
There in the wedding ceremony, I will spread a lot of red
In the girls’ hair with my lover’s hand.
But, all of these subside remembering you.



Alfred Khokon (1970 - ) is the author of three collections of poetry. He edited, Nandon, a literary magazine, and now working for the NTV as a producer.

Translated from the Bengali by Hassanal Abdullah


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    Shabdaguchha, A Journal of Poetry, Published in New York, Edited by Hassanal Abdullah.