Poems of Hossaien Kabir
An ancient River
Heart is razor-wounded rioting waves of waterless river batter ribs
There is no water here
Parasites float in this heartless wilderness.
There was a river once.
No river exists now!
Leaving behind storms, rains and grains of Sand
Only stream of blood and fiery water flows.
There was a river once
No river exists now!
The skeletal remains of a river,
Ancient mast and the forepart of
Boats lie in the vast field,
And the river – an ancient corpse –
Overgrown with bushes, creepers and grass prevails.
There was a river once
No river exists now!
Only the skeletal remains of a river lie
Feathers of birds are strewn in the field,
Only stones and eyes of stones are visible.
Taking stones for water dear ones of the river
Merge themselves only in stones.
I Play On Flute Of Leaves
The bell of departure rings always
In the fields on earth amidst the untiring flood of sunshine
In solitude, lonely
At the end of days sleep descends on the Plain land or under the sunny sky
On the other hemisphere
Alas! songs of falling leaves
I, too, play on the flute of leaves and
Sing the songs of departure
In the solitary field lamenting in incapable syllables- on this side of the earth
Somebody unknown being bluish in pain releases colourful balloons on the other side
Experiencing bluish calmness
Is he the cowboy from the remote region!
All by himself drums the drum of cloud
In the waterless field, in the grievous moonshine
The bell of departure rings always
In the fields on earth amidst the untiring flood of sunshine
In solitude, lonely
Hossaien Kabir is one of the distinct poetic voices of contemporary Bangla poetry. He began his poetic voyage in the eighties of the last century. His turns of poetic phrases are unique. Kabir has so far written 6 books of poems. Though he often shuttles between Bangladesh and America his poetry is replete with the moribund as well as living natural images of the motherland. He is a mordant critic of the time and his incisive poetic articulation speaks much of his poetic vision. ‘Where Shall the Birds Go’ ‘Let me go to the Wilderness to love trees’ and ‘An Ancient River’ are three of his representative signature poems of the time and these are also included among his much recited poems.
About Translator: Professor Mujib Rahman is a poet and translator; a distinguished teacher of English language and literature at Government colleges. He has taught with exceptional skill and reputation at Government Chittagong College, Government City College, Chittagong and many other colleges across Bangladesh.
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