A Night Of Winds Poem by Harun Al Nasif

Last night was a night of rigorous wind- a night of innumerable stars,
All night long sweeping winds lashed at my mosquito-net,
At times the net swelled up like the belly of a monsoon sea,
Breaking loose from the bedstead, sometimes
it tried to soar up to the stars,
Once in a while it seemed- in somnolence, maybe-
there was no net over me,
Next to the Swati star like a white heron
in a sea of blue wind it was flying!

Last night was such an amazing night.

All dead stars were astir last night-
in the sky not a speck of space was left;
Amid the stars I even saw faces- fade with time-of all the dear deceased;
In the dark of night, the stars were scintillating
like the dewy eyes of a amorous kite atop the ashwattha tree;
The enormous sky glittered in the moonlit night
like a stole of shiny cheetah-fur sported by the Queen of Babylon.

Last night was such a wonderful night.

Even stars that died in the heavens thousands of years ago
brought myriad of dead skies last night thro’ my window.
The beauties I saw die in Assyria, Vidisha and Egypt
seemed to be standing in row, armed with long lances last night
along the misty limits of the far-off sky-
To trample down the death?
To express the profound joy of life?
To raise the sublime, solemn obelisk of love?
Benumbed, overwhelmed had I been.
The cerulean severity of last night seemed to have torn me apart
Beneath the ever-flapping, widespread wings of the blue
the earth, like a tiny bug, was reduced to naught last night,
Down came violent winds from the heavens
whizzing thro’ my window
like numerous zebras from a verdant land put in retreat by the roar of lion.
My heart was overflowing with the smell of a vast green grassy veldt,
with the smell of mighty sunshine inundating the horizon,
with vibrant, immense, vigorous and thrilling raptures of darkness
like the frantic growls of a tigress in heat,
with the tremendous blue ecstasy of life.

My heart tore itself free from the earth and took to the air,
To a sea of sapphire wind like a blown-up, delirious balloon
up it climbed.
And flew the mast of a distant star along with it
to star after star like an intrepid vulture.

Last night was such an amazing night.

All dead stars were astir last night-
in the sky not a speck of space was left;
Amid the stars I even saw faces-fade with time-of all the dear deceased;
In the dark of night, the stars were scintillating
like the dewy eyes of a amorous kite atop the ashwattha tree;
The enormous sky glittered in the moonlit night
like a stole of shiny cheetah-fur sported by the Queen of Babylon.

Last night was such a wonderful night.

Even stars that died in the heavens thousands of years ago
brought myriad of dead skies last night thro’ my window.
The beauties I saw die in Assyria, Vidisha and Egypt
seemed to be standing in row armed with long spears last night
along the misty limits of the far-off sky-
To trample down the death?
To express the profound joy of life?
To raise the sublime, solemn obelisk of love?
Benumbed, overwhelmed had I been.
The cerulean severity of last night seemed to have torn me apart
Beneath the ever-flapping, widespread wings of the blue
the earth, like a tiny bug, was reduced to naught last night,
Down came violent winds from the heavens
whizzing thro’ my window
like numerous zebras from a verdant land put in retreat by the roar of lion.
My heart was overflowing with the smell of a vast green grassy veldt,
with the smell of mighty sunshine inundating the horizon,
with vibrant, immense, vigorous and thrilling raptures of darkness
like the frantic growls of a tigress in heat,
with the turbulent blue frenzy of life.

My heart tore itself free from the earth and took to the air,
To a sea of sapphire wind like a blown-up, floating balloon
up it climbed.
And flew the mast of a distant star along with it
to star after star like an intrepid vulture.

Original in Bangla by Jibananda Das

Translated by: Harun Al Nasif