Bird Of Memory Poem by Pradip Saikia

The shining sun is
On the other side of memory

On one side
Death - blood red china rose
Serpent Chilly darkness

So long you have been fleeing
From yourself

Groped in the mirror
A bearded face

Crown of stiff thorns
Yellow look
Soundless sound
Smoke of emptiness

You have forgotten to smell for so long
The season of million flowers
The taste of fruits
The colour of grasshopper
Sunshine
Lightning
Rabindra song of cricket

When you were waiting on the wharf
Searching foryourself
Some boatman
Became a scream
In a whirlpool
Suddenly today
Your face have become brighter
In the mirror

A bird of my memory knows
The scream was
You yourself

# Translated from Assamese to English by: Bibekananda Chowdhury