Thursday, September 10, 2015

king comes king goes

translated 'Raja Ashey Jaaye' (King Comes & Goes) - iconic Bangla poem by Birendra Chattopadhyay (1920-1985), not to be confused with early Communist revolutionary Virendranath Chattopadhyay (1880-1937).


king comes
king goes
king changes
blue robes
red robes
this king comes
that king goes
colours change
days don't

that naked kid dreams to gulp the world down
fights with dogs for rice
shall keep fighting
fire lit in belly
burning
shall burn

kings come and go
dresses change colours
masks change faces
that crazy guy from tagore's books
claps
from this street to that
sings and dances:
'everything's false
everything's a lie'

motherland
sees all
is blind
knows all
is deaf
your naked child
is that crazy guy
snatches rice from dogs
claps at starving dogs
they don't change
you won't change

dresses change colours
dresses change styles

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