Beyond Land and Time

Tonight

(Ājke Rātє)

Translated by Faizul Latif Chowdhury

Had you been around tonight we could talk;

—a world of Hijal Shirish stars grass breeze all surround.

But all our thoughts feeling emotions are filtered

through reasons and logic, and made to the point

I have been through all those protocols and their consequence

Seen India London Rome New York China’s chronicles

The story of tonight and the extinct mammoths

All are covered by fierce discipline.

Where are you lost—which dice to cast in hand?

What keeps you engaged? Not all pursuits prove gainful;

Our daily dawn and dusks, river and stars—that

I have known profoundly

Archived therein all those eternal truths.