Golden and silver fish,blue and violet
Millions and millions of shining pieces of
Diamond passion-hued
A razor-sharp motion cutting the sea
Into two halves,
Invincible you.
Covering the vast length of the sea
With your fins
You outdo the tides
That kiss the hill-tops
Your eyes overflow with gusts of dreams
Touching the farthest horizon
The first child of creation-
The everlasting dazzle of undying passion.
Golden and silver fish, blue and violet
Shining with colour of births
With the colour of countless deaths,
Death’s contretemps-the many fishing traps
And nets big and small
Are spread out
In the yon Ghiladhari river;
Immortal you are still,
Fish ,oh everlasting fish!
Indian Review Profiles :
Hirendranath Dutta has been a professor of English Literature and is a prominent poet of Assam. His Somdhirir Sowarani, though being his only verse collection is “imbued with wit, directness and an inimitable diction. He is also well known for his translations from Assamese to English.