Shadowy
Along which track should I go to the mellifluous stream that resembles the melody of the oriole
Where is the implicit direction in the sudden dazzle of an expanding cool ring of moonlight
How would I behold the sidelight of glinting words like stars of golden ale colour,
How would I make up for the scarcity in the soul brought by love that exceeds hope?
I love the making and breaking of attributeless thoughts that are like flying clouds
The quest for the hilly path resembles the hawk cuckoo's shrill growing louder after repeated cracking
My mind is fraught with thirst of emptiness like the hanging roots of orchids;
But where shall I get a foothold?
The legs are like those of the mole cricket with sudden celerity producing hollow sound dilemma around the fiery thought
Creative synthesis for me is like the image of the legendary queen seen on a mirror by the fervid sultan.
The circumference of my mind expands with the speed of proliferating mistakes
The sand storm rises the inquisitive traveller drowns in the desert fault
Settings silvery knife the snows catch the legs roughly
The rain washes away the pollen anthers
Tears wash away the fragrance of the soul;
Piercing the impassable forest of the night flows the sounds of breathing of the old master smacking of indifference
The waves of which nourish the forests of the legendary medicine mountain
But how far, how far is that philosopher's stone?
Translated by Uttam Duorah
Hirendranath Dutta (1937-2010) was an Assamese poet and critic. He recieved Sahitya Akademi award for his poetry collection Manuh Anukule (2000) in 2004.
Uttam Duorah, the translator, retired as the HoD, English, Women’s College, Tinsukia and is based in Tinsukia, Assam.