Just for poetry, this life, just for
Poetry this play, just for poetry, alone on a cold day
Traversing the earth, just for poetry
A flash of a tranquil, wide-eyed face
Just for poetry are you a woman, just
For poetry so much bloodshed, these cyclonic depressions
Just for poetry am I tempted to live longer
Live a life of regret like human beings, just for poetry
Have I disdained immortality
Sunil Gangopadhyay was a prolific Indian-Bengali poet and novelist based in Kolkata and the author of 200 books. In 1985, he received the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel Those Days. Arunava Sinha is a prolific translator of Bengali literature. His most notable translations include Buddhadeva Bose’s When The Time Is Right (Tithidore), Rabisankar Bal’s Dozakhnama, Samaresh Bose’s Fever (Mahakaler Rather Ghora), and Sankar’s Chowringhee.