(Translated by Zaynul Abedin)
Secrecy, Oh Secrecy!
In the feint of an embrace
You have stabbed me in the back.
Secrecy, Oh Secrecy!
I could never divulge the truth!
The wound sustained has gradually healed up
Leaving open the scar of a frozen gash in the inbox.
This Fatehpur, this Sikri,
Akbar-Anurag-Birbal-Tansen-Abul Fazl
Amritsar, Morichjhapi,
Jessore Road, Shahpori Island—
All are well-known perilous roads, so to speak.
If belief misleads,
Who will demystify politics to me?
Secrecy, Oh Secrecy!
I could never divulge the truth.
Some names are emblazoned on the school gate,
Some scribbled in the murderer’s pocket diary
Some engraved on the grave in the cemetery
Some erased in the flow of the Padma
Some carved out in the bed of the Seine River
Oh the Holy Month of Ramadan,
Oh the Holy Night of Shab e Qadr
If Emperor Akbar’s secular name is engraved
In the Ilahi scroll,
Mine is in the current of love.
Secrecy, Oh Secrecy!
I could never divulge the truth!
Zaynul Abedin teaches English at the University of Dhaka.
