Far And Near

(My Bangla Poem translated in English on Readers' Request)




Seen you a zillion times
In dreams far and near
At the bus stop, on the roadside,
While boarding the tram, in the
Crowded market place
Aloof, wrapped in your own world
And I in my lazy days, sleepy noon,
In soporific haze, in dawn's early rays
With the chirp of the birds
Woken up in a maze
Hunting for you
Did you hear me calling out your name?
Perhaps yes.....perhaps no.....


But


Silence beseeched
Why I wonder
Your lame excuses....preoccupation
In the corner of your eyes lay still
Sinful secrets of lusty stare and
The taste of burning breath
The answer was hidden....there


Another day...
In the humongous throng
Where bodies blur
Our song had gone astray
In the rush of blood
A distant wish had taken
The shape of an intimate muse
In a wave of guilt I had fled
From you....


Untouched innocence I am
Vile passion, venomous you
And a sacred quest in tainted hue
And those muddy kisses
Clenched in my fist
A sky clouded in rue


Are you mine?
Or a claim anonymous?
I know not, yet
When miles sweep away
The nearness of minds
Over oceans of time
I cross with faltering steps
Alone