Two Poems by Satyajit Gogoi

In the Heart of the Dark Night

In the heart of the dark night 
Were hung the flowers of light.

The sounds of excitement went on and on
Smoke thickened the fog.

The terrified dog
Curled up under the bed
Seeking shelter.

The meadow beneath the bokul
Delivered to me at dawn
A dove which had tumbled down
During the night.

The sounds of the crackers 
Slept peacefully in his heart.
The Forest Revisited Today

Today also the forest revisited 
This town
Turned into the dust wheels of a chariot 
To recall a memory. 

It came and left
Towards the hill
That wrapped round its body
A pitched road
And turned in its exit
The rocky jawbone of the hill.

The forest today
Was not accompanied 
By voices of squirrels 
Woodpeckers and gnats.

Translated by Ananda Bormudoi

Satyajit Gogoi is an Assamese poet based in Duliajan. He has one collection of poems to his credit.

Click here to read the original Assamese poems.

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