Ephemeral

Neera, sometimes, it seems you are more distant than even the day I was born. You walk alone -- in the autumn-woods. The rustle of leaves under your tender feet, fill the air! The mountains, sloped like a bullock's neck meet the horizon, and the evening sun resounding its victory-cymbals sets behind those hills. All these, Neera, seem more distant than even the day I was born. Sometimes, when I've looked at the sky, I've seen a dying star. I feel a shiver in my heart, my eyes come down to the earth and to the world all around. At those times, Neera, I feel a strong desire to fight all that is born to die! I wish to place the flag of the Heavens in your almond-hued palm, and tell the whole world, that the ray of mystical light falling on your chin, shall stay arrested, forever. At that moment, in the distant leafstrewn woods, I see your enigmatic smile! You know Neera, that the white pigeons that fly in the evening sky, even they are obscured by darkness! like the light of our eyes, and like all worldly sorrows! It's only the misery of man that stretches beyond his lifetime. [Translated from Bengali poem 'Nashbar' by Sheila Sengupta]