Bangla Poetry in English

 I Am No Stranger Ahsan Habib The stars in the sky are my witnesses, too are the flowers of this land, the midnight bamboo groves, the endless glow of fireflies witnesses- the Jarul and the Jamrul stand witness, the eastern pond, shaded by its tangled fig branches watches me. The kingfisher knows me well. I am no newcomer here, By God, I am no unknown traveler. I am no stranger. I am no stranger, for I have always been here. By the rhythm of dreams, I remain here still. And to stay here is to belong everywhere- throughout this land. I am no stranger. The scorching sun, watery winds, the weary clouds of the afternoon, the restless birds- they all know me. They know I am no outsider. The sheaves of rice in Kartik bear witness, Like the trembling dewdrops on the chiroli leaves, So does the shadow of Nishinda draped in a quilt of moonlight. Even Kodom Ali, bent with untimely age, withvfatigue darkness in tired eyes- I know him, I am none but of his own. I know Jomila’s mother’s kitchen...

  THE ARTIST after Jayati Das---in the shadow of Ramkinkar Baij O Sky— let me seize you in the curve of trembling fingers, in the fists of earth-stained hands. Let me sculpt your vastness in clay. Bird—won’t you flutter away? Lift that supple neck— how warm, how tender the ribs beneath! Let my gaze drift to Egypt, to Tibet— for you—breathing forest. And as your bark peels away, a seabird laughs in flight— a grace no touch could hold. Come, sit before the fire— before the storm's hunger  tearing all apart— to scattered ash. You think me mad! Don’t ask its cast. Let the whole body ignite in creation. Why cleanse it, beloved? Drink the river—like a deer at peace, while the hunter’s light gleams in these nails, these eyes. Within your depths, I dissolved to carve the unshaped into form. Did you hear the wail— was it a tiger’s cry? Which mountain now veils your vanishing face? Come, let me touch— you, luminous stone, star of ineffable beauty. I offer the heart's full blossom, ...