The Winter In Bangal Poem by Emdad Shah Emdad

by Emdad Shah
Shivering, driving, biting, winter comes to Bengal
Winter comes, winter comes in white and green thrall
A dark maiden goes to bathe early in the chill morn
In the freezing, ice-bound black tank forlorn.

River, wood, thicket, seven realms in mist's haze
She shivers and dives with love in her embrace
Winter is so grim there, of death the despair
Black cold, black cold, black—night's misty glare.

Winter's dark trade is so hard to comprehend
I am a lone traveler, helpless to the end
The current of currents flows sweeping away
Lifeless leaves trace their paths, fading day by day.

Shivering, driving, biting, winter comes to Bengal
Wrapped in a shawl of mist on a silver wave's thrall
At dawn pearls of dew on the grass-blades gleam
The piercing wind shivers in a freezing stream.

Pots of date-palm juice hang from tree to tree
Sweet sunlight peeps where the palm-fronds agree
Pithe-puli pastries spread scent through each home
Winter's mood comes and leaves ruin to roam.

Pulling up his wool blanket, little Khoka sleeps deep
A frosty morning illusion where laziness creeps
The touch of the chill wind stirs the green leaf's crest
Winter comes to Bengal, gathering its joyous test.

Shivering, driving, biting, winter comes to Bengal
Where mist blends with clouds in a shadowy pall!
Fields and meadows are hidden by a smoky shroud
Old mother winter wanders through villages proud.

Shivering, driving, biting, winter comes to Bengal
The mist flies in colors of dew's crystal call
The morning's golden sun smiles over the plain
While songs grow faint in the distant woods again.

Moment by moment, in forests, the Himalayan frost, Rushes down, flows beneath the earth, tempest-tossed
Oh, what a cold, what a bitter, sharp pain
Winter weaves spells of a merciless strain.

Emblic, olives, and star-fruit on branches gleam
Winter comes, winter comes in a discordant stream
It stirs up a riot, winter costs dear and high
So the dark maiden leaps from branch to branch nigh.