Poems by Shankar Chakraborty
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The Coin
Something is written at the back of this tiny coin Many more things invisible you can see with wonder… No, nothing of so much exists After an unplanned waking of untimely sleep Do you keep the picture of this coin by looking at the other side of it? Have you ever called the zephyr and told him — go away! In action, you changed the side of the coin and Announced that it’s a slight change -- And there is nothing more than that The unparalleled siblings, friends or and Almost everyone hides their faces in the dense darkness. When spring touches A very ordinary white indoor flower was laughing at you Three crocodile pups were sleeping in their secret hideout Inside the wardrobe — Their silent sleep terrifies you today Wonder why your head Suddenly separates itself from the body and Goes out to sit in the verandah Wonder why your body dislikes nothingness and Loiters aimlessly inside the room The crocodile pups perceive all these at ease -- Grinding their teeth, they pulled one of your legs under the bed Being amazed at the sight of your hunger-stricken face, Your head wants to look at it one more time at the verandah Many days ago, the crocodile pups had broken their fast By eating the wardrobe-fridge-TV And your head with some pomelo zest Your lonely head still looks for the outgoing spring in your verandah. Translated by Amrita Bhattacharyya |
A poet of 70s, Shankar Chakraborty is a poet, editor and translator. He has authored 32 books of poems.
About the translator
Amrita Bhattacharyya is a bi-lingual poet and a writer. She is presently working as an Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of English Studies and Research, Amity University Kolkata. She is the author of seven collections of poems, a collection of short stories and two novels written in Bengali. Her writings have been published from Poetry Out Loud (London), Pynecone Review (Austria), Indian Literature (Sahitya Akademi), Indian Writers’ Forum, Anandabazar Patrika, Ajkal patrika, Desh (Ananda Publishers), Nabokollol Magazine and in various renowned magazines and journals in India and abroad |
