Midnight Moon
The midnight moon climbs down
to pause on the bamboo span
Smearing itself with the blue from the sky
becomes rain the night long
Drenched in the rain
the moon’s hair grows longer
like the notes of Chaurasia’s flute
The spring carries the smell of the hair
to the river
It makes the hyacinth bloom
furtively
In the sun after the rain
the warbler drinks
the blue water of the river
gazing the while at the river
by Jiban Narah
translated from the Assamese by: Pradip Acharya
from The Buddha and Other Poems; Monsoon Editions,
Calicut, 2009