By Nalinibala Devi

O' wayfarer of the unknown road!
Along which way had you come in search of a route?
You've lost the very course of the unfamiliar road.
Whose unheard voice had you heard?
Behind the shroud of the monsoon clouds
The gloomy streaks of the full moon today;
In the glum canvas of laughter and tears
What have you caught sight of 
Unseen before?
In the distant blue sky of autumn
The moon doesn't gleam with its pleasant smile.
Behind the veil of clouds
The pale moon's forlorn smile surfaces.
Piercing the night's darkness
Glows a flame of light afar—
O' wayfarer of the dark road!
Can you now behold the route?

Translated by Krishna Dulal Barua

Nalinibala Devi (b. 1998-d.1977) was an Assamese poet known for her mystical poetry.

Krishna Dulal Barua is a prominent translator and writer based in Nagaon, Assam. He received the Katha Award for translation in 2005.

Click here to read the original Assamese poem.