Issue: Vol. V, No. 3, November-January, 2026-27
Poem of the Valmiki woods
The dreams stretched their limbs and yawned
With the yearning of becoming green
A pair of ruddy shelducks arrived
And daubed the lake of dreams
With colours
The colours sought to paint
The heart’s courtyard
With vibrant dreams
A sudden gust of wind
Blew away the colours
On the unsought notations of agony
Picked up by the grief-stricken moments
A melancholic ballad was born
As a fresh new poem
With a plaintive melody
On the shores of the lake of dreams
A new poem was born
A poem of the Valmiki woods
Anticipation
Who doesn’t wish
To spend the moments
Only with happiness
With the blooming of hopes
The shadows of sorrow begin to lengthen
Still anticipation builds a nest in the bosom
The sky makes a canopy with the stars
As if the stars would begin to converse animatedly
Converse by offering consecrated bliss
Anticipation shall build a nest in the bosom
Soundless songs shall resonate
After listening to the lullabies of sounds
Soon the stars shall slump to slumber
Still anticipation shall build a nest
On the sleepless nights
By opening the latch of grief
It shall keep waiting
Just for the sake of spending
Its time with happiness
It shall keep waiting
For the sweet moments
That had picked up the coral beads of bliss
Translated by Krishna Dulal Barua
Pranoti Barua is an Assamese poet and writer. She has published three collections of poems.
Krishna Dulal Barua is a prominent translator and writer based in Nagaon, Assam. He received the Katha Award for translation in 2005.