Siesta time on a cloudy day, just when memory began to unroll
Timeless love in the garb of a tiger, came to the woods for a stroll …
I spotted it, came close to it, and called out: Come on, devour
But its eyes were glued, and trapped it stood, to budge it had no power.
I was gripped by sheer panic, for those pair of jestful eyes
Winged and singed in light-filled blackness, floating on blue highs
The tiger was bulky, its face was grumpy, and its conceit a towering hill …
These tiny etchings by my hand though bared a beauteous thrill.
Siesta time on a cloudy day, just when memory began to unroll
Timeless love in the garb of a tiger, came to the woods for a stroll …
I spotted it, came close to it, and called out, Come on, devour!
But its eyes were glued, and trapped it stood, to budge it had no power.
Translation of a Bengali poem বাঘ (bagh, meaning The Tiger) by Shakti Chattopadhyay, published in July, 1972 in his collection প্রভু নষ্ট হয়ে যাই (probhu noshto hoye jai, meaning “Lord I am Rotting Away”).
