The Trees and Creepers The trees and creepers here Are stretching their stone hands Towards the sky. I have seen lifeless birds and animals In a glass cage. I am walking down a slanting road Meeting children on my path And I have lost myself In their hearts. I have exchanged words with them I have felt the warmth of the words. They have asked me About vultures closing their flights The frightening fact Of the bees losing their power of reproduction And I have turned pale Looking at their faces.
On the Burial of the Veel Stone trees are growing On the burial of the veel. I have not seen for a long time The flight of the storks And the flock of wild ducks. Their voices have become fossils Under the newly built stadium. The weeping of the watery lives Have not yet been quietened In the lap of the wind.
Climbing on the Rocks Climbing on the rocks, an excavator Is flying a dark red flag. The greedy owners Are immensely powerful. The day disintegrates And hides itself Bending over the swamp. The whispers of darkness Are striding in the wind.
[Translated by Ananda Bormudoi]
Satyajit Gogoi is a contemporary Assamese poet based in Duliajan. He has one collection of poems to his credit.