By: Chanchal Kumar Das

The Palace of Sleep

All around, there is only discontent and hatred,
People quarrel with people in uproar,
Why have they not woken up yet?
On all sides they have built a palace of sleep.

Those who are truly educated, who have learned true education,
Tell them to wake the others up,
Let thunder come or not,
Let thunder strike even without clouds.

If they remain asleep forever,
If they still do not wake up,
An unknown storm will rise in life
And sweep away everything in its speed.

Carefully, convey this message to all,
Warn them of the coming storm,
Waking everyone, tell them to take up arms,
Give arms to all, calling out loud.

Tell them to break down the palace of sleep,
Whisper the meant…

New Year

It is time for fallen flowers to bloom again,
Through the branches flows
The heralding message of the new.

The glow of a new morning’s light
Gives hope to live,
A new sun in the mind takes away the old darkness.
All the barriers behind lose their way in the fierce light,
Hesitation awakens in the mind
Yet still, it finds dreams.
Then I walk my path, guided by my own heart.

I want to move forward, forgetting everything,
But the pull from behind holds me to the shore.
Carrying both demon and human within,
The desire awakens to reveal the human,
By covering the demon.
A traveler who forgets the path even while knowing it,
Even on a lost path, finds the way again, for sure.
Washing the mud with water, I build a golden chariot.
Gives hope to live,

Love

Eyelids flutter, down and up,
White flowers bloom within the heart,
I come to know, the king’s own palace
Is in the eyes — that are love.

Clouds wander roaming in the sky,
Language finds its life in melody,
Light-smeared wings of happiness
Have found a new language.

Coming to play in the land of grass,
Parting and union mingle together,
The exchange of breaths
Reaches deep into the lungs.

In contraction and expansion,
The breath sustains the mind,
Giving ever-new feelings,
Erasing all that is old.