Dilwar

Sunrise over the Keane Bridge

It is morning now ; serene and calm,

A soft cool breeze away from my tired soul

                                 the weariness of night’s sleep,

And I feel refreshed.

The blue sky stretches above.

It lures the bird his nest

                                with the call of the far-away.

Down below the swift-moving Surma flows with a

                                                                   murmur.

I listen intently to its matchless words ;

                               his life is full of the highest promise

                               whose soul is alert and dynamic,

It is he who sows in the fertile soil of creativity 

                               the seed of the everlasting wisdom,

Turning my eyes all on a sudden

To the remote Eastern sky,

I see the bold red sun rise like fresh young blood.

I hear the twittering of birds of birds

Amidst the soft cool breeze

                            begins the journey of a new day.

Behind the curtain lies the melancholy night.

Like the sharp point of a spear 

                            golden sunlight strikes the Keane Bridge.

The people are already out on the street.

                            Their voyage has begun.

                                                                  Translated by Kabir Chowdhury

Dilwar (1937--)

Poet. Journalist. Poetry : Jiggasa (1953), Pubal Hawa (,,), Oikatan (1964), Udvinna Ullas (1972), Facing the Music (1975), Swanistha Sonnet (1977),  Essay : Bangladesh Janma Na Nile (1984), Awards : Bangla Academy Award-1980, Abul Mansur Ahmed Literature Award-1986.