This Death Valley Is Not The Land I Own
In fear, a father shuns his child's cold remains,
I scorn him—
A brother's indifference, still untamed,
I scorn him—
A teacher, wise poet, thinker of acclaim,
Who seeks no vengeance for this deadly shame,
I scorn him—
Eight lifeless forms, a solemn row,
Their path in the realm of consciousness lies,
I stand entranced, in eerie throes,
Eight open eyes within slumber's guise,
I awaken with a piercing cry,
Stars call me in the midnight garden's realm,
Delirium grips me, I feel the sky,
I shall be consumed, my senses overwhelmed,
I'll take my life, as my desires dictate,
In desperate act, I shall acquiesce, I admit.
Amid the act of writing this verse,
Upon the wall with charcoal and ink,
With my blood and tears, emotions converse,
The poem takes form, as I deeply think,
In tumultuous engines of feelings unrehearsed,
Upon a face by violence's light, sunk and sink,
With resolute gaze, the words immerse,
The poem emerges, beyond the brink,
"38 and more, what lies with the hand of curse,"
I reject it all, and now I drink
Deep from the chalice of this verse.
Within the icy chamber of lockdown's keep,
Mayna's light of inquiry trembles in the night,
In the court of the perpetrator's sweep,
Within the realm of false teachings' blight,
In the web of oppression, people weep,
Amidst the armed, the unarmed, the fight,
Let the poem's voice awaken from its sleep,
Let it echo against the oppressor's might,
Let Bengal's poets vigilantly reap,
To the festival of revolution, let them take flight,
Let them envelop the city, secrets to keep.
This death valley is not the land I own,
This celebration of killers, I disown,
This vast pyre where lives are thrown,
This blood-soaked slaughterhouse, overthrown,
I will return my homeland's tone,
Within my chest, a fervent tone,
A torch of fire, my body has grown,
I'll carry my country's spirit, brightly shown,
Through every sorrow, love will be sown,
As long as Bengal stands, alone,
As long as human hearts continue to moan.
A thousand watts of light invade the night,
Interrogation's relentless gaze,
I shall not yield to this cruel plight,
My spirit resists, courage displays,
Ice between nails, pain's frosty bite,
I endure, unyielding, amidst the haze,
Bound and bent, blood dripping in fright,
Yet I stand strong, the oppressor's ways,
A burning coal, a brutal rite,
Marks my back, a fiery blaze,
With a stick in my mouth, the pain's fight,
Still I stand, my spirit ablaze,
In the face of terror, no fear in sight,
Poetry resists, my voice conveys,
Armed with truth, in poetry's light,
No submission, my stance stays.
Observe Mayakovski, Hikmet, and Neruda's acclaim,
Their poetic legacy, we haven't forsaken,
Instead, a new epic, we aspire to frame,
Embracing our land, hearts unshaken,
In guerrilla meter, a voice aflame,
Adorned with courage, injustice awakened,
The masses dance, a thunderous claim,
A wild tribe's dance, spirits unshaken,
Red earth, blue sky, a nation's name,
Titas flows, a serpent's fangs awaken,
Death's venom, a deadly game,
A fight for justice, oppression's forsaken,
Dynamism's hurricane, a fierce flame,
Change's engine, no spirit shaken,
Nail and rod, defiance to proclaim,
No fear shall I yield, no submission taken,
The unfamiliar face, fear's empty frame,
When I know, love of justice cannot be shaken.
If they take my life in their cruel hand,
From each corner of Bengal, a spark shall arise,
My obliteration, a stance that stands,
Year after year, against oppression's lies,
Within the earth, the green promise expands,
My destruction is not, my spirit defies,
In happiness and sorrow, across life's sands,
As long as Bengal lives, as long as humanity flies,
I carry my homeland, strong as the land's,
With courage as my guide, to the skies.
Translated from a Bengali Poem by Nabarun Bhattacharya
"Ei Mrityu Upotyaka Amar Desh Na".
Translated by Adrijeet Nanda.