A face in the procession
Hasan Hafizur Rahman
A procession there was,
Of glory resistance throughout.
Prideful heaped up silence
Of mountains, too,
Can break into pieces.
Blood writes a thousand unspoken words.
The fire that burns in the hearts
Also burns up the rubbish
That has gathered over centuries.
The chilling noise of the bullet
Hides itself in the air
Ashamed of its own vicious act.
Millions of eyes mirror the sky
Ablaze with a thousand flames.
No voice but blood,
Man’s holy blood,
Pours out words in thunderous silence.
I see today just once face
In the procession, as if
All faces of martyrs have
Transformed into the quintessential form in this
once face
Just one face is conspicuous,
With courage and sacrifice written large on it.
This face in the procession
Is like a flag fluttering in the air
Holding up rights sovereign,
Sovereign like the sun.
Translation: Kabir Chowdhury
Unarmed courage of Alphabets
Belal Chaudhuri
We are now illumined by you –
As the moon is by the sun, civilization by humanism,
And Bangla language by the morning procession,
Like freedom holding aloft your hands;
Our struggle is alive in your unarmed alphabets,
Like the sailing of democracy for the victory of Bangla
And the ethos of a nation in the roots of motherland.
Courage, beauty and struggle
Are like tides formed by small waves,
Resolute determination from small fists
Of eternal Bengal, Bangalee and Bangla language.
Translation: Dr. Helal Udedin Ahmed
