This house, this body, these eyes, these lips

Udaya Narayan Singh

One day this house will be home to ghosts and ghouls

That day open the bricks, bolts, unlock the knot in the wrist

Of the door find in every grain of rot the termites uttering

                                   his beloved Dark name


One day this body will be skeleton nothing but bones

Count my ashes and take a bag of rice take immortality

Take love take the holy books take violent unease that name

                                    will still remain


      One day these eyes these pictures powdered into glass will fill

      Your pride. Count the tears take the price of every story

      A minor raag a faulty key the busy poem’s jobbing dancing demon

      will still return to its tree


One day these lips will fuse with the music of dust some pretence

At poetry by the thirsty poet will become pollen still you’ll find

So many lines half-said thoughts unfinished, the curse of listening

will be your inheritance.


Click here to listen to an mp3 reading in Bengali


Three Poems by Udaya Narayana Singh: This house, (Bengali): Incognito; Spectral
Udaya Narayan Singh

Udaya Narayana Singh (born 1951) is a reputed poet, playwright and essayist in Maithili and Bengali. He has published collections of poems and plays in Maithili, as well as six books of literary essays and two volumes of poetry in Bengali, besides translating several books. He holds a doctoral degree in Linguistics from the University of Delhi and is currently the Director of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore. Previously he had been Professor of Linguistics and Founder-Head, Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies (CALTS), University of Hyderabad (1987-2000).