My Ice-Bound Life Poem by aysa jhorna

O reindeer, my milk giver
Drive me over the ice field
Towards some ice-bound noisy settlement,

My mother is waiting at home
Father has gone hunting
My sister lies asleep on the bed of ferns,
The pet dog stands guard at the door.

When summer visits this country of mine
The sun forgets about night.

After the end of summer comes winter
My spring-field is covered in ice
My tiny lake is my sun.

Like the primordial beast
Inside my lair I keep weaving
The tales of my spring,
My life, the designs on the quilt—

Sitting beside the dense gleaming fire
I reflect it was fire that chanted
The first assurance of security.

Pratham staba
Translated by Zakeria Shirazi