Jibananda Masum Translated Poem

Ami Jodi Hotam - Jibanananda

Ami jodi hotam bonohangso;

Bonohongsi hote jodi tumi;

Kono ek digonter Jolsirhi nodeer dhare

Dhankheter kachhe

Chhipchhipe shorer bhitor

Ek nirala neerhe,

Tahole aj ei phalguner rate

Jhauyer shakhar pechhone cha(n)d uthhte dekhe

Amra nimnobhumir joler gondho chherhe

Akasher rupali shoyser bhitor ga bhasiye ditam -

Tomar pakhnai amar palok, amar pakhnai tomar rokter spondon -

Neel akashe khoi kheter sonali phuler moto ajotsoro tara,

Shirees boner sobuj romosh neerhe

Sonar dimer moto

Phalguner cha(n)d |

Hoito gulir shobdo:

Amader tirjhok gotisrot,

Amader pakhae pistoner ullas,

Amader konthhe uttar haoar gan |

Hoito gulir shobdo abar:

Amader stobdota,

Amader shanti |

Ajker jiboner ek tukro tukro mrittu ar thakto na;

Thakto na ajker jiboner tukro tukro sadher berthota o ondhokar;

Ami jodi hotam bonohangso;

Bonohongsi hote jodi tumi;

Kono ek dogonter jolsirhi nodeer dhare

Dhankheter kachhe |

If I were a wild-drake

Wild-duck, if you were

Somewhere on the horizon on the bank of Jolsirhi river

By a paddy field

Amidst slander reed

Resting in a tranquil nest,

Then on this Phalgun night

Watching the moon rising at the backdrop of Jhau branches

We, leaving the scent of low-land water,

Would have floated ourselves in the silvery crop of the sky -

Your wing touching mine, my wing feeling your blood beat -

Blue sky studded with numerous stars like the golden flowers of Khoi field,

In the green thick nest of Shirees forest

Like the golden egg

Phalgun moon |

Perchance the sound of a gun-fire:

Our sharp movement,

Pumping ecstasy in our wing,

We sing the song of northern wind |

Perchance the sound of a gun-fire again:

We are silent,

We are at peace |

Life's piecemeal death would not have been there;

Would not have been frustration and darkness of life's piecemeal desires;

If I were a wild-drake

Wild-duck, if you were

Somewhere on the horizon on the bank of Jolsirhi river

By a paddy field |

--Translated by Dr. Masum Z. Hasan (1996, Holmdel, NJ, USA)