Lake in the Forest

Translated from Assamese by Suman Sarma

There is a river in the heart.

Banks erode, hope turns to despair

when heart breaks;

It floats in tears.

Men with broken hearts

must take the narrow country road ,

that takes him to the village on foot.

Even if the floods devastate the village

it cannot destroy the mind and hope;

Villages are destroyed

But in the same way they are rebuilt.

There is a lake in the soul of the village.

From the bottom of that lake

white and pink lotuses

keep popping up.

(This poem is translated from the original Assamese

by Poet Rajeeb Kr. Phukan)

::x::x::x::

Suman Sarma

works as an Asstt. Professor of English

at DY Patil University and lives in Mumbai