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Srijato

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THE TORTOISE

Wrinkled skin. Age? Must be three or four hundred
Like dark circles beneath the eyes, the western
Hemisphere engraved on the shell, so extraordinary
But absolutely silent now after all those wars
Won’t listen, won’t speak, won’t look either
We only gather in a crowd every evening
Eating small portions of that old story
Vanished phrases, broken words, missing letters
Still we eat the story, sharing it amongst ourselves
Thousands of years ago, in some race or the other,
Once, yes, once, I had defeated the hare.

© Translation: 2015, Arunava Sinha

THE TORTOISE

© 2013, Srijato
From: Chhotoder Chiriyakhana
Publisher: Ananda Publishers, Kolkata

Srijato

Srijato

Srijato began writing at an early age. His first book of poems was published when he was 24. In 2004 his book, Uronto Shob Joker (All these flying jokers) won the Ananda Puraskar, a significant award in Bengali letters. He lives in Kolkata, where he is also active as a lyricist in Bengali cinema. He has 20 books of poetry to his credit.

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THE TORTOISE

Wrinkled skin. Age? Must be three or four hundred
Like dark circles beneath the eyes, the western
Hemisphere engraved on the shell, so extraordinary
But absolutely silent now after all those wars
Won’t listen, won’t speak, won’t look either
We only gather in a crowd every evening
Eating small portions of that old story
Vanished phrases, broken words, missing letters
Still we eat the story, sharing it amongst ourselves
Thousands of years ago, in some race or the other,
Once, yes, once, I had defeated the hare.

© 2015, Arunava Sinha
From: Chhotoder Chiriyakhana

THE TORTOISE

Wrinkled skin. Age? Must be three or four hundred
Like dark circles beneath the eyes, the western
Hemisphere engraved on the shell, so extraordinary
But absolutely silent now after all those wars
Won’t listen, won’t speak, won’t look either
We only gather in a crowd every evening
Eating small portions of that old story
Vanished phrases, broken words, missing letters
Still we eat the story, sharing it amongst ourselves
Thousands of years ago, in some race or the other,
Once, yes, once, I had defeated the hare.

© 2015, Arunava Sinha

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