Two Poems by Atul Bordoloi

What Season is it Now

What Season is it now 
Doubts and fears all around 
Vision is blurred
Eyesight totters.

Only darkness advances limping at dawn.

In the morning sunshine 
I stumble over
Grey pebbles on the road.

Lightning adorns the sky
With a whistle
Among the dark clouds. 

I am thoroughly drenched 
In showers one after another 
In the thirst of my heart
I have gathered yellow heat of the sun.

In silence grows green splendour
Broken hearts also feel a tide
For love of a song life sings a chorus. 

A thousand eyes can watch 
Myriad colours. 

What season is it now
What season?

In the Month of Shravan

The smell of slime in Shravan 
Wakes me up at night
The leaking roof
The mind in void
The thundering clouds at night
A ballad of hard times. 

Whose hand can offer
A shelter for peace 
Whose eyes can illuminate 
Riding on a galloping horse
To break free from bondage?

Whose quivering lips
Break the silence of the hour
To converse on renewal of life?

Fighting our way, we die or survive. 

Look! the ancient tree is overjoyed 
As it blossoms forth. 
Open your eyes 
Keep hand on hand.
Store in your heart 
The splendour of the rice plants
The beehive of your dream is sweet.

Heavy shower descends
For its love of the earth
And the earth is thoroughly drenched. 
The earth dances in a trance
The dream of a new life murmurs.

[Translated by Ananda Bormudoi]

Atul Bordoloi is a contemporary Assamese poet.

Click here to read original Assamese poems.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *