Poetry(Translated by Rifat Munim)I sing with algae wound around my earsEven the brown shalik birds know of my chainsMaybe that’s why when it rainedPerching on my floor they yawnedDance they will, before leaving, when the sun is upThen they will find their food, sinking their beaks into the grassI sing with algae wound around my earsEven the bright shoals of fish know of my perilsMaybe that’s why on the threads of some fisherman’s netThey stayed with meWhen hit by the waves they will leave swaying from side to sideDown the rivers toward the seaDo the sly fishermen know of me and my perils as well? Suraiya Khanom was a poet and writer. She was a professor of English at Dhaka University. She died in 2006.

Source: Dhaka Tribune April 11, 2020 15:22 UTC