Victoress
(Original: Bijoyini)
Kazi Nazrul Islam
Translation: William Radice
=========================O my queen
Today at last I accept defeat
My battle-flag lies at your feet
My immortal sword of victory
Is tired now and heavy.
I cosign to you the weight of it now,
I make my surrender a wreath round your brow.
O goddess of my life,
When you look at me with tears in your eyes,
Great world-conquering waves seem to roll and rise.
Today in my rebel's chariot of blood, you are the rider;
Your fluttering sari has become Heaven's border;
All my arrows are yours, your garland their quiver
Only by floating in your tears can I now be a conquerer.
Courtesy: Rafiqul Islam (ed.) Kazi Nazrul Islam: A New Anthology (Dhaka: Bangla Academy, 1990)
Information about the translator:
Dr William Radice
Lecturer in Bengali and Head of the Departments of South and South East Asia
SOAS, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG
Direct Line 0171 323 6235; Fax 0171 436 2664