The Gourd Blossom | Jiban Narah

A rain-drenched flute kept playing

One by one dreams kept falling
like leaves

I’m a small sailboat
the note of the flute
makes me reach out to the banks
like a river
I would rather not spend this night alone
I’m the lone first blossom
of the flame of the forest

With the spiraling smoke
a glow-worm cam from the rain
and said:
Do you hear the drenched not of the flute
I’d gone looking for the unknown player

When the wind brought me here

Don’t tell anyone that I’ve come
the wind will keep it a secret
if the sky knows it will tell the stars

I’ll spend this night with you
the color of the gourd-blossom is on my body

Blow out the lamp
We flower at night

– translated by: Pradip Acharya

Jiban Narah (born 1970) is the author of six books of poetry in Assamese. Considered a popular and influential poet in his home state, he has been translated into other Indian languages, including Bengali, Hindi, Manipuri, Marathi, Oriya, Gujarati and Tamil. A book of English translations of his poems, The Buddha and Other Poems, appeared earlier this year. He is also a writer of fiction and essays. He works as a college lecturer in Nagaon, Assam.