A poem about a pair of lovers, separated by the treachery of war and violence by Jibanananda Das.
If I were
If I were a wild-drake
Wild-duck, if you were
Somewhere on the horizon on the bank of Jolsirhi river
By a paddy field
Amidst slander reed
Resting in a tranquil nest,
Then on this Phalgun night
Watching the moon rising at the backdrop of Jhau branches
We, leaving the scent of low-land water,
Would have floated ourselves in the silvery crop of the sky -
Your wing touching mine, my wing feeling your blood beat -
Blue sky studded with numerous stars like the golden flowers of Khoi field,
In the green thick nest of Shirees forest
Like the golden egg
Phalgun moon
Perchance the sound of a gun-fire:
Our sharp movement,
Pumping ecstasy in our wing,
We sing the song of northern wind
Perchance the sound of a gun-fire again:
We are silent,
We are at peace
Life’s piecemeal death would not have been there;
Would not have been frustration and darkness of life’s piecemeal desires;
If I were a wild-drake
Wild-duck, if you were
Somewhere on the horizon on the bank of Jolsirhi river
By a paddy field.
Cheers
Shi Xiong
