Illness
You live alone, you are happy-
This is what you said once.
Sometimes I remember you.
I am alone, I am transformed all the time
in a lonely garden.
I live in great happiness like you.
The night descends and bows its head
to my yard; an unauthorized entry.
The silence of the night spreads far beyond
the roots of the trees!
Perhaps, you are also sleeping
Now in a distant city of obscurity!
When the night is darker than before,
intense sickness melts from the body of happiness,
my garden is washed away…
Root
If Huen Tsang or Fa-Hien had not
visited this land, would we have known the world !
these thoughts make me sleepy.
The whirlwind of Baisakhswirls in my
small corner of the house,
in the low-lying paddy fields,
in the green wilderness.
In the intense sun, the gray body of
my father gets burnt.
I remember my mother.
Mother? How was that woman?
She was in the world of deep sleep
before I was born.
My father’s young wife,
whom I now call Mother,
hid her face in the dusk.
Even today I cannot recognize
the root of my birth…
Arrival of Spring
Who knows where
the dry wind is blowing in the field!
Chaitrapalash is alone, my mindset burns
The crow of nationalism flies
Far and far beyond borders…
An innocent bee in the hot sun
Is moving around the empty sky!
Who knows where to fly?
Southern Air is waiting for the arrival of Spring…
Braja K Sorkar is a bilingual poet, editor and essayist. His major published works include – ‘Nine titles in Bengali’ (Poems and Prose), a highly acclaimed poetry collection in English titled ‘Syllables of Broken Silence’ and selected poems of Hiren Bhattacharya (Assames) in Bengali translation. His poems have been translated into English, Hindi, Assamese and Manipuri which have also been included in many anthologies. Braja K Sorkar is the editor of the prestigious literary journal ‘Trstoop’ since 2001. He has also edited a few anthologies including an anthology of World English poetry, titled ‘Voices Now: World Poetry Today’ and also Modern Manipuri Poetry in Translation. He also edits an international literary journal in English, titled ‘Durgapur Review’. He is associated with Sahitya Akademi as a Translator. He lives in Durgapur, West Bengal. He runs a small publishing house-Tristoop Books based in Durgapur. He can be accessed through brajakumar.sarkar@gmail.com, or 9064231839 (mobile).
