Shabdaguchha
The International Poetry Journal in Bengali
Translated Poetry
9th Issue
July-Sept 2000
From Barishal to Briarwood:
Bengali Poetry in English
Gholam Moyenuddin (1944-)
Unfamiliar Unification
Sometimes, I can't recognize you É
Perhaps, a sky-kissing vastness lies
Behind the veil of your obscurity
An ocean-deep beauty and
The youth of sun-drenched rice stalks.
One has to look for similes to find your shape.
Your natural frame
Speaks words of flawless confidence.
You offer shadow like an obedient tree,
Wind fluttering the border of your sari,
Home and
Habitats.
Your beauty doesn't flourish
In absence of moonlight.
When the moon sets
And darkness engulfs everything
You illumine the earth like the moon.
The color of your hair is invisible
In the sky devoid of dark clouds.
Again cloud-dark night falls
Within the depths of your hair
In the darkened sky to induce sound sleep.
Cool nature casts shadows at your crimson feet,
The grass-drenched path is thankful for your footsteps.
If I ever get mixed up with the line of the long path,
If we meet on the way,
The unfamiliar union between you and me,
Marked by ceaseless touches will definitely snap.
Translated by Saidur Rahman
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Shabdaguchha, A Journal of Bengali Poetry, Published in New York, Edited by Hassanal Abdullah.