Issue: Vol. V, No. 1, May-July, 2026
At least
If only you had told me at least once
about that philosophy—
How the mountain peak osculates the sky
How the moonlight osculates the sea
How the gust of blowing wind changes the two smiles into one!
You know, I’ve never seriously looked at your face even
but I’ve been looking at the tree between us
which is growing skywards in height
I’m looking at the steep hilly road
where we met each other one day
Over which you and I’re moving and still moving
as fellow travellers
feeling the warmth of hands.
Some say its the flower that blooms in spring
Some say its the autumn moon
Then who’s the one between us two
From light to darkness from darkness to light
who is quiescent, silent and still!
At least
At least if you had said once—
let us see becoming a flash of light
who’s the one that is silent and still?
Storm within the Storm
Veiling the stars with hyacinthine cloud
the wind is scoop fishing on the tree top,
On the house top
From inside the house itself
I can sense its intensity!
The melancholy arising out of my inability
to read the poem of life even after opening it
with a fervent intention,
having managed time for it,
makes my inside now
the remnant of a candle burnt and melted!
What happened outside the house
Well, I’ll know everything tomorrow
But how would I see
what has the storm inside my bosom done
and where?
Translated by Uttam Duorah
Tapan Baruah is an Assamese poet based in Tengakhat, Dibrugarh. He has fourteen collections of poems to his credit.
Uttam Duorah, the translator, retired as the HoD, English, Women’s College, Tinsukia and is based in Tinsukia, Assam.