Clamorous both outside and within

In whose grip does the sharpened sword seethe
Drops of blood remained dripping from the roof
All through the night

At whose feet are the finer veins
Lying genuflect
In which corner is the enkindled star
Hiding itself
The night of the hailstorm shattered
Unopposed
All dreams of Saraighat

The interlinking village-paths have eroded away
The bonding bridges of faces and minds have crumbled
Amid the incessant clamour

The detached people have become
Unfamiliar with their own selves

Wonder, to which dense forest
Are the hushed inaudible screams,
Floating in the emptiness,
And the echoes of their resonance
Heading for?
And the countless afflicted faces with shattered dreams?

How clamorous both outside and within
How were the times, what have they turned into!
Has the phase of war ended herein!

How strange
The white-feathered birds that had come to town
To sing the morning wake-up songs
Met their ends in the noose in the Jatinga of greed.

Anirban Dutta is an Assamese poet and writer based in Hawajan, Biswanath, Assam.