Poetry
The Night Falls
(A translation of Rabindranath Tagore's "Shondhya" from Geetabitan)
The heart hurts when it does
Oh, lovely Eve, as you slowly descend!
Closer, closer- to me you bend-
For the forlorn soul of mine
In you alone, does suspend.
Weep for the same, you and I,
The same due we deny,
And you be my confidant
With love and esteem, hereby.
All day long I wander
On your knees to return,
All the soft sighs, things unsaid
To you I reveal;
In you, I confide.
To your silence I listen
And your stars do I count
Before my eyes close in,
A dawn of passion soon begins-
Dreams in your dimness
Slowly to wane, slowly to wane.
Not a word I ask,
Silent in your sweet embrace,
My eyes wide open, courting your trace.
Slightly you breathe,
Lowly you sing
To me lullaby of the stars,
Your kind caress on my lids
Eases the pain,
Soothes the soul, and what's underneath.
And so I ask of you now,
As the lone heart of mine
Has but your heart to claim,
Your chest to lean on,
Your bassinet, gingerly and tame,
Oh, dear Eve, when you slowly descend!
Grant me your veil of darkness
And cast away my grief,
Sing me to sleep
So the spheres are one, quiet in relief.
Wrap it all in a mantle,
The sound, the fury of men-
Seated in our weariness.
Tell us your wise tale, time and again,
So they will mourn,
See those castles in the air
And once all's said and done,
Fall asleep then and there,
Oh, stunning Eve, as you slowly descend!
A dala full of fantasies
And verses I carry
As you gift me a wreath of yours,
Place it on my head,
Gently love my fragile frame.
In waves swims close a slumber,
Choir of the drowning stars
And crickets- at once, together.
The weary wind walks home
Whistling after a long day's work-
Leaves of grass, rustled,
Swollen over the intruder alert.
Lyrics-never-sung will remain so
In league with hopes unmet,
Shifting shapes will they travel
The corners of my mind, the lunette,
Oh, sweet Eve, as you slowly descend!
Cloak the world with your clouds
Golden on verge of the West,
Play on if you will, joyful and blessed.
That curtain you mend each day
Becomes but a haven
And to have it yet the way it is
I want- calm, though tasted.
How do I go after this mass,
Fancying rooftops over my head!
How many times, oh, how many times!
How much I yearn for the not
Like the sun on its edge!
How do I fall before
The sea and its endless sand sedge,
Its vast abode of rising tides!
Those tiny stars of yours
Rest on my eyes, luminous and fine.
Patient, they wait
For me to arrive, they wait
And then they hymn-
"When will you be here
In dark serenity,
For the last lamp
Burns on your side-
In beauty and brevity?
A no man's land we stand in,
And hope for you to come,
To rise, and a lesson begin!"-
This be the air I've learnt from them,
The stars in your bosom,
Oh, beloved Eve, as you slowly descend!
Bury the sight-
And reunite
Close to your heart dear, darkness and light.
Nishat Atiya Shoilee is a Lecturer in the Department of English and Humanities at ULAB.
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