Shabdaguchha

The International Poetry Journal in Bengali and English


Issue 39
Jan-Mar '08

Taslima Nasrin

I値l Come Back

Wait for me Madhupur and Netrokona,
Wait for me the Joydebpur Road Crossing,
I値l come back.
I値l come back to my people surrounded by chaos,
Drought and flood.

Wait for me the village cottage,
Courtyard, lemon plants, and my girlhood playground
I値l come back.
I値l come back to sing sitting in the full moon,
I値l come back to swing with the hanging rope,
I値l come back to my fishing rod in the bamboo-grove pond.

Wait for me Afzal Hossain, Khairun Nessa,
Wait for me Edul Ara, I値l come back.
Wait for me Motizeel, Shantinagar,
Wait for me the February Book Fair,
I値l come back.

I知 sending a few drops of my tears
With the cloud shifting
From the West to the East,
And asking them to shower on the rooftop
Of the tin-shaded house
On the edge of the Gol Pukur.
The winter birds flying towards the East,
Each will drop some feathers in the lily-pond,
In the Shitalakshya River and the Bay of Bengal.

Dear Brahmaputra River, wait,
I値l come back.
Wait for me shal forest, Mohastan Gar, and the Sitakundu Mountain
I値l come back.
If not as a human being, one day,
I値l come back as a bird.


Shal: a long tree



Taslima Nasrin (1962 - ) is the author of more than 30 books including 11 collections of poetry and 7 novels. Her first book of essays, Nirbachito Kolam (1991), for which she received the Ananda Award (1992) from India, and was insulted by the Muslim fundamentalists in Bangladesh. Later, when the fundamentalists set a bounty on her head, Taslima fled to Europe to save her life. From then on, she became an international figure. A couple of her books were banned in Bangladesh and India, and many of them were translated into more than 25 languages, such as Hindi, Urdu, Assamese, Kannada, Oriya, Nepali, English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Italian, Icelandic, Finnish, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, Persian, etc. Among many prestigious awards and honorary doctorate degrees, she received the Ananda Award in 2000 for the 2nd time, Shakharov Prize (1994), Unesco Prize (2004) and Simone da Beauvoir Prize (2008). Ms. Nasrin now lives in India.

Translated from the Bengali by Hassanal Abdullah


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