Sunday Poem: River

The river is like a flowing history
Or a curving geography of civilization

So many cultures nurtured in your lap
So many cities lost in your waves
In your bosom you hold so many unforgettable memories.

The earth and the sky echo with your gurgling
You witness so many stories of meeting and parting.

Your beautiful body has been touched by the flow of time
But with longing eyes your lover
Has waited for ages to merge with the sea.

History and geography have changed,
So has the earth and the sky
But the ocean of your love remains unchanged.

You have become one with the ocean again and again
Yet you have kept your identity every time.

(Translated from the Odia original into English by Purabi Das)