Apon piyashi

In myself I find her 
She knows me better than myself 
I can hear her footsteps 
In my thirsty desires
In the parched sky of my soul 
She cries like a pied crested cuckoo 
At night she comes in my dreams to steal moonbeams 
Like the Himalayan partridge 
In the garden of my soul, I see her in loving dark clouds  
In the ominous light, she appears as beautiful as a patient lightning  
In my very own garden 
I offered her a garland      
Only to wake up and see that 
It's just hanging around my neck

Translated from Bangla by Quamrul Hassan.

Quamrul Hassan is an author, poet and an MFA Candidate of Creative Writing and Translation at the University of Arkansas.