Death Anniversary of A Witch

(Dedicated to the countless women killed on the suspicion of being witches)

Breaking the earth sprouts
That burning body

In the air, hangs a screech
Slowly, it fades into thousand screams

A flickering blue fire
Floats in the air

Draws fresh wounds in the
Hearts of men

The trees of the night recognise the darkness
The people of the night find

The terrified face of the woman
Without magic, without malice

When will death come?
When will death come?

Death comes when a poisoned
Arrow pierces the jackfruit leaf

Days become Past

The weeping of the relatives float in the forest
Unknowable, in the fields unharnessed

In the sand islets on the river
In the tiny hutments ablaze in fire

Breaking the earth sprouts
That burning body

In the air hangs a screech
From faraway

I am telling you
Today is the witch’s death anniversary

(Original Assamese poem translated to English by Mr. Dibyajyoti Sarma)

Kamal Kumar Tanti

Kamal Kumar Tanti (b. 1982) is a well-known young voice in the contemporary world of Assamese Poetry. Kamal is a bilingual poet, critic, writer and translator; and writes both in Assamese and English languages. He is a nominated Member of Assamese Language Advisory Board of Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters), New Delhi. He belongs to Adivasi Tea-garden Labourer Community of Assam. His first collection of Assamese poetry Marangburu Amar Pita (Our Father Marangburu), published in 2007, won him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2012, for Assamese language and Munin Barkotoki Literary Award in 2008. His second collection of Assamese poetry Uttar-Ouponibeshik Kabita (Post-colonial Poems) has been published recently in July, 2018. His Assamese poems have been included in various anthologies of Assamese poetry and featured in various journals in Assamese. His recently published book titled Post-colonial Poems presents the best of his Assamese poems in English translations, selected from his two collections of Assamese poetry.