1
On the denuded bough
The butterfly
Gropes for Memories of Spring !
2
I saw a pair of quivering lips
In the indistinct light
From that moment onwards
I stopped
Yearning for the Moon….
3
When the river is in spate
Fishes splash about.
No bees could be seen hovering around
What is then that lulling drone in air
In this dry season ?
4
The book is reciting poetry fixing its gaze
On my eyes….
5
A fire-ant on the snowy peak
At any moment now
A brilliant spectrum of vivid colour
Is going to be strewn all over…..
6
A long road lies ahed
The honey dewed voice of
My sweetheart
Dimmed in the strong wind.
7
Touched by the sad fingers of the rain
Strains of a mysterious flute, float
In from the sad banks in the afternoon !
Whose, I wonder…..
8
He has been gazing
At the crystal waters of the stream
Like Narcissus
Without batting an eyelid.
9
Not all forms have their
Shadows outlined
Flowers mean nothing to
The dead butterflies…
10
How far would you proceed in this manner
The body needled by thorny darkness ?
Every step greeted by a mound of corpse…..
11
How could you imagine
That the man drowned in the water was not
From your neighbourhood;
The village burnt to ashes was not
From your district…..
12
Dew blossoms float in the wind like
Dry leaves in fall…..
13
The innocent frolics of golden childhood
Only memories spilling over…
14
I am no longer lonely like I used to be…
My heart is heavy with the weight of the stone
Setting there,
At the first opportunity…..
15
Over the paddy field with flowering plants
The early morning mist confronts the Sun
The life and death battle would continue
Till the end it seems !
16
My arrogance my prized possession
Of the centuries !
No ! I am not spending any of it,
And do not call me tight fisted…
17
You are humming a song
From my heart !
Today you are enchanted
By the butterflies of my garden…
18
The river current waits for the moon
To enter the river
In the dead of night…….
To carry it downstream
On its little boat….
19
I can hear you in the loneliness
I can see you in the noise
Who are you ? Light or river ?
20
Snuffing out the lamps of the stars
The moon cozily crouches under a blanket
And goes to sleep in the lap of dawn….
Source : HUMMING A PIECE OF SOLITUDE
Poems of ROUSAN ARA BEGUM
Translated by SYED AHMED SHAH
