Niloy Rafiq
Dritarashtra
Niloy Rafiq
The pilgrimage of greed has accumulated in the land of heart. Fire is on holy house, burning files, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Padmaavat.
Termite is in spider web,
There are waves in Shahabagh, I will go back again on the sky.
Terrible black paw is all around
On the hands of guard are the blood of killing fresh rose.
The blood estuary of Meghna and Jamuna is frenzied
Surrounded by horrible day and night.
Dhritarashtra-A character in Mahabharata; the blind father of Durjadhan
Translated by Aklima Ankhi
FLOWER OF FIRE
Niloy Rafiq
An addiction to darkness prevails in the school of light
Eyes are to the hidden inside, mischiefs in the mountains
The face lifted upward in shame, fragrance of the flowers of fire The resonant Sonagaji is a form of truth.
The rose of a brave diary is on fire The green darkness of fire-burned petals
A tale of the words of the map is told in the cries
Nusrat and Rafi of burned clay are in the heart.
The day-blind friend of memory is the flame of pain
A tearful mind written in a wonderful childhood
An investigation of the murder manuscript is under cover
The witness's power of attorney is the writing of time
A well to do mirror sees the command by pen
Death penalty, the final address of sin is hanging midway.
Translated by :Jyotirmoy Nandy
PLAYING IN THE WATER
Niloy Rafiq
The annual tax paying day is being observed inside the house
The moneylender is sitting with trays of sweetmeats and betel leaves
Songs in mother tongue are being played in loudspeaker
The fallen leaves are flying in a mood of summer.
Fields are full of corns, minds are impassioned
Hospitality starts after the harvesting with sweaty toil
Parties of reading the old books verses in moonlit nights
The glow of the morning is absorbed in the hum of the tune.
Bowed at the pagodas and temples; the lamps of peace
Burn out the books of old remembrances
An arrangement of indigenous crafts of hills and plains
The water sports and baths give the vision of a new life.
Translated by Jyotirmoy Nandy
CLOUDS IN FRONT
Niloy Rafiq
A daily flight to the land of invisible art
Forest-pictures on the banks of the bridge of eyes
Talks with words of love fascinated with fragrance
Searches for unknown stars in the Baltic Sea
Untimely hailstorms loom on the horizon
The wall of mind is white due to a separation with joy
Old clothing in a room of remembrance
Nirvana of expressionless happiness in the seed of blood
The spring sun is flying, the tide is high
The wings of the body are embodied in the heaven’s hair-parting
A terrible storm is on the way to Pulsirat, the river of the dead
Clouds are there hiding from your eyes when you go to the front
Translated by Jyotirmoy Nandy
Exhaustion
Niloy Rafiq
O bird!
From where the call comes in the black night
To fly away leaving behind the pleasant home
Burning in discord ecstasy, where to find you?
Who will sing a song for me
Who will Write the poem of the fallen leaves?
August's black night inside the heart
Night! Black night! Only night!
O bitd! Keep singing!
In Bangla, in Hason-Lalon's tune,
O bower! Keep shadowing, give life!
l will last forever.
# Hason-Hason Raja was
a Bengali mystic poet and songwriter from Sylhet, Bangladesh
# Lalon- Also known as Lanlon sain, Lalon Fakir, Guruji, Sainji and
titled Fakir, Shah,was a prominent Bengali spiritual leader, philosopher, Baul
saint, mystic poem and social reformer
Translated by: Shahidul Shannon
THE TOWING THIEF OF HEART
Niloy Rafiq
Lips red with red juice of betel leaf and lime, charming flowers sow seeds of
Speaking art in the parlour, a fragrance of love in the field of dream
Gossipers from the planet gather in search of a new pilgrimage
Starts at the dawn when the night ends, meditative in the sky and the caves
As long as I go to the ribs, the magnet and the cover meet each other
A walk in the city of nature counting thousands of hours
The first guest is the shimmering glow of innocent light
Gabriel appears and flew by Borak from the roadside.
Tired body lying indoors with dark in the eyes
Waves in the warehouse of peace, midday meals on the table
With the wind’s chanting, forms are at sixes and sevens and the rhythm breaks
The desire to enter in the bedroom peeps in light and shadow
Pulling the curtain, Chandravati smiles brightly and talks about proximity
The towing thief of heart spreads its wings and swims in the sea.
THREE DOORS ARE OPEN
Niloy Rafiq
Rain comes when we meet
Sunny again when we go apart.
The sea draws us to the Laboni Point,
The oysters play their part.
If I go closer, you just move away.
Tell me please, how I can trust you.
Darkness was no more there yester night,
The river bad was white with bright moonlight.
All the three doors are open, don’t tell me to go back.
Grass hopers are absorbed in the paintings of nature,
Splendour is there inside the skillful inner world.
The tale of time returned after a long aperture.
Gone Elsewhere
Niloy Rafiq
Drawn by the navel, the beauty has gone away elsewhere
The map shivers in winter with the song of birds.
Heavy fog makesthe life cycle a disaster
The future victorycounts time by the scent of sunflowers.
How much mockery, Oh my dear
There’s fire inside the burnt chest and at the deep of eyes
I collect oysters from the sea shore
Everlasting happiness, being drawn by the earth
May the immortal treeblossom in a bright light.
The Nose Pendant
Niloy Rafiq
Drawn by the heart, Mohua has crossed many seas
Leaving hide and seek, the butterflies returned to their nests
In the horizon and the country. The drunken estuary,
Standing exuberantly in the moonlight, is fragrant with flowers.
Lie down if you are tired, the cool mat calls you
Two artists are face to face on an ancient map
in the dark of night
Folds appear in the words in the morning.
After bath, seems someone calls me out to the pond
Opening my eyes, I search still the nose pendant
Behind the clouds, in the cover of my memory.
UNKNOWN LETTERS
Niloy Rafiq
The immaculate peak of Adinath is wrapped with sounds of time
An infinite lighthouse stays awake at the paw of the time eternal
The dusk spreads, ovations everywhere
The neon moon in the sky grabs and draw the ultimate crossing
An endless route is there where you are going
Leave the bonds of attachment, and chant the rupachanda bodies.
If the blooming flower falls down untimely
The judge of time will deliver verdict in letters unknown
The affected pencil won’t take rest, the suggestiveness of words
However sharp might be the stroke of the barramundi’s gill-flaps
Even a sharper poem spreads its lonely wings in the realm of stars.
Translated by Jyotirmoy Nandy
Niloy Rafiq
Was born on 6 August in 1983 in Cox`s Bazar in Bangladesh.
Niloy Rafiq has been writing in the literary pages of local daily newspapers since his school days. Later, his poems were published in national and international literary magazines including various little magazines. So far, his notable poems have been translated into more than twenty foreign languages. His English poetry book `Sunleaf’ has already been published by `Amazon’. The number of his poetry books written in Bengali language is 6 respectively 1. I, the swan float in pure sadness, 2. Thirst’s eternity, 3. Salty man's face, 4. Unknown fire, 5. Adinath in eyes, 6. Wax prayer bowed in a clay body. His poetry has a magical, edgy feeling. Poet Niloy Rafiq is like a magician in the extraordinary weaving of words and rhythms.
