Relief
Words of heart quietened,
Words of muted heart were lying
In the bags of men
Starved and thirsty,
Clamouring for a handful of rice.
In their widened eyes
Sparkled greed, deprivation and mayhem
Of near and dear ones.
Sorrowful sighs
Stealthily settles
Helplessly in those bags.
Tears soaked the bags,
A groan of hungry heart grows loud
Aspiring relief with anguish and despair.
Measurement
Everywhere measurement
Everywhere bargaining
Everything- shops, markets
In the grip of measurement.,
Bargaining.
In this world of men
All are conscious
Lest there is imbalance,
Yet they forget correct measurement
In their own controlling.
Price falls short
Love-soaked wide heart.
The heart shrinks
In that world
Price falls,
Orphanage mushroom
Old age home explodes.
Cities of majestic palace
Dwarf thousand poor hutments.
Those who amass huge gold and wealth,
Seeing unseen
Correct measurement.
The scales of generosity, love and compassion,
Are buried deep down
Under mountainous heap of soot.
An image of frown
Blazes out on the measurement's scale.
Translated by Nayan Jyoti Hazarika
Pronoti Barua is an Assamese poet and writer based in Saikhowaghat, Tinsukia, Assam. She has two collections of poems to her credit.
Nayan Jyoti Hazarika is an Assistant Professor, Department of English, Duliajan College, Assam.