All
night the dahuk cries…
I
keep vigil by myself
In
this land of sleep …abysmal sleep.
Let
us not play the game of deceit anymore,
Let
the bees sleep after a strenuous day
Pray,
listen to the song of the dahuk.
From
the starry port
The
moon journeys to the sea
Shadowed
by the feathery clouds.
Like
the frogman who dives and dives
And
brings the coral dreams.
Silently
and ceaselessly
Like
the dew drops
In
shreds descends sleep…
Desolate
becomes the fairy palace
In
the celestial spheres
Out
goes the flame of desire.
Disconsolate
the dahuk cries on …
Like
a bird invisible and without a form
Or
as if a diver in the
Unfathomable
depth cries out in
The
throes of death.
Dream-burdened
the stars
Get
drowsy in the skies.
Art
thou still awake ?
Dost
thou hear with intent ears ?
Dost
thou hear that cry that pervades the sky ?
He
alone is the wakeful sentinel in the forest of
profound sleep
Borne
on the winds languorous
Goes
the fairy of his dreams
Along
the path of consciousness.
The
cup of night overflows
With
the strains of the bird.
The
melody permeates the air.
The
decaying moon looms
Behind
the bush of reeds.
Night’s
grief spills in to the seventh sky.
You
seem to be a disembodied melody
Yet
I know
You
are but an instrument
Giving
forth
The
tunes of infinite sadness
That
overtake the skies.
Melody
of unprecedented beauty, or
Wine
of inexhaustible abundance
I
know not which art thou,
wan
grows the blue moonlight
At
the lamentation of the bird.
Bird
or vessel ! I haven’t known you as yet.
Perhaps
I know thee and thin parti coloured body
Painted
in fine colour
With
a fine brush.
But
hardly do I know
The
melody that haunts the edge of night
And
fills it with grief unbearable ;
Hardly
have I known that wine
Whose
bitter-sweet taste
Opens
the door to sorrow
That
hangs frozen on the trees.
It
seems you are only the cup-bearer
Who
empties the vessel full of melody
At
the end of the forest
Solitary
by yourself.
O
unknown vessel of wine !
Tireless,
impatient and athirst,
You
travel to the unknown land of the Sun
Beckoned
by the stars in the still night
Piercing
the oceans dark
To
the doors of the moon
The
intoxication that burns and takes you
On
the tempestuous sea,
Gives
rise to a symphony of stars and storm .
Like
light of lightning it flashes
Past
you bathing your
Lake-lustre
form in scarlet hue.
The
comet rushes past
The
top of the dead forest
Which
is thrilled once more
By
the marine storm
Violent.
Yet
dost thou steadfast bring up
Melody
from the depths of the sea
That
fills the night.
The
Dahuk cries….
All
grief and complaint
Dissolve
in silence.
O
bird, tireless
Dost
thou cry on…
Thy
cry is like the call of freedom-
Limitless
freedom,
We
groan in chains,
Insensible
of thy strains.
We
lacerate ourselves
With
our own hands.
You
are of this ugly crew.
Thou
art the vessel
Of
music that sings of
Soul
liberated and of life and
Death.
That
is why
O
solitary bird, unfettered bird
You
can sing in that full-throated manner—
We
can not.
The
wind plays the ‘Venna’ in the forest of the reeds
The
music dies out
The
moon goes down behind the ancient forest—
Darkness
deepens.
In
the shadowy hour and in silence
I
sit contemplating all sorrows.
Night
falls –
On
leaves and on dewdrops.
Sorrow
dumb and wordless
Pulsates
through life and death.
In
hear the cry of its parched breast
And
piercing the silence
Of
the distant forest.
Translated by Mohammad Ali
Dahuk
– a waterbird native to Bangladesh.
Farrukh
Ahmed
(1918—1974).
Poet.
Poetry : Sat Sagorer Majhi (1944), Sirajam Munira (1952), Muhurter Kovita
(1963), Poetic Drama : Hatem Tayi (1966), Naofel o Hatem (1967), Children
literature : Pakhir Basa (1965), Awards : Bangla Academy Award-1960, Adamjee
Award-1966.