An evocative poem by Dr Tirthankar, exclusively for Different Truths.
I let you go
and heard you say
without fuss
‘adieu’.
The last bus,
dust-covered,
panted
like a mangy dog on a leash,
dying to be released
into the night.
Blinking, it wobbled
from side to side
but was happy nonetheless
to be untied.
Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths
Tirthankar Das Purkayastha (b. 1956) is a Professor of English (retired) at Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India. He has so far published three books of poetry in Bengali and many scholarly articles in academic journals. His translations of poems by Sunil Gangopadhyay have been published, with the poet’s approval, in South Asian Review and Indian Literature, a Sahitya Akademi journal. He has been regularly publishing poetry in all the leading journals of West Bengal.