A stone’s throw

A stone’s throw from the hillside
and a stone’s throw from the beach
Gosh! I am a lucky fellow
to have this in easy reach

And what’s more I have a river
from the sea into the hills
so if I tire of either
I have that to bring the thrills

Emotional Deluge

I wrote this poem in my mother tongue, Axomiya(Assamese) a few days back and posted in my blog (http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com) on July 26, 2018.  I have a few Bengali friends from my college days with whom I share my poems.  Whenever I share a poem written in Assamese with them, I try to translate that to Bengali for their benefit. I do not claim any strength in writing in Bengali.  So if any of my reader finds my Bengali translation inadequate, I apologise.  Constructive criticism is appreciated as that will help me to improve my translation skill in future.

I translated the poem to English and sharing all the three versions here, English followed by the original Assamese and then the Bengali translation.

If I am swept away someday
In an emotional deluge
Please stand by me
Be my rock
A pillar of patience

Peace

At Kew by the water
The Thames is quite low
It’s still early morning
and the river is slow
Time for respite
and peace by the trees
with only the sound
of birds in the leaves

On built up embankments

Standing on built up embankments
for a moment or two at midday
It’s a pleasure to see the old oyster beds
and seabirds out there at play

Brilliant

The glare was quite brilliant
from the bridge with the blue
and the sunshine so bright
that it looked almost new
The river was brimming
the tide really high
with soft wavelets lapping
as I wandered by

Alleviations

Alleviate me, with a foghorn. Swept up compilations hound
and dog me desperately, so maybe extend a forlorn sound.

It’s a gull’s life

“So, this wall in the sun
makes a great place to view
this town where we live
don’t you think, just us two?”

“You’re not wrong my friend
it’s a great place to be
down here by the river
not far from the sea”

Quirky

3 of 6 in the Jemverse ‘Shoreham’ series

And I am a community
fascination here to pique
All along the river bank
quirky and unique
Houseboats here in residence
tradition to bizarre
Conformity is alien
I’m not particular

Alpine River

Even in the allegedly flat valley
The river ran boiling over its rocky bed
Looking out of our cabin window
I could see white electric splashes of water
Gashing along in evening gloom

Haiku-9

great sturgeon swims by;
sitting on the rivers side,
we watch in silence

© L. Rose

Seagulls passing

Sitting in the sunshine
by the river at high tide
A seagull came and perched
on the railings by my side
We had a little chat
as it seemed the thing to do
Passing a few pleasantries
before away he flew

Went for a walk

Went for a walk
down by the sea
Near to the waves
as they sang to me

Sunday afternoons…

Sunday afternoons
A walk, a rest, a cup of tea
This insouciance

Gunnersbury

Under Gunnersbury bridge
the Thames is on the turn
And as the sun shines on the water
there to wander I adjourn

River

I am tranquility and more
my voice a soothing balm
Shining I reflect the sun
to bring you peace and calm
I am river flowing free
my waters smooth and still
Come stay a while and breathe me in
until you’ve had your fill

A fall from grace I

There’s a boat on the river
that’s sad and bereft
For I’m sorry to say
there’s not a lot of it left
Abandoned to fate
several years ago now
It’s slowly been fading
from its stern to its bow

Have wheels, will travel

Bought a two man kayak
but although it’s very nice
Time these past two years
has meant we’ve only used it twice

Shiny shiny

Shiny shiny
the river today
as slow to the sea
it ebbs on its way
On the footbridge I pause
and soak up the sun
on this wonderful morning
as the day is begun

Before the rain

Just before the rain
River water smoothly lies
Ebbing to the sea

Mill Hill Wanderings

Mill Hill in the sunshine
on a perfect July day
The river in the valley
and the hills across the way
We’re the only people up here
so the silence is complete
Just the panting of our little dog
and the tramping of our feet

Echo on the water

There’s an echo on the water
at this quiet time of day
as the river slowly flows
before the world comes out to play
Silently I stand and breathe
and smile at what I see
For this really is a special place
where I am fortunate to be

Reflected blue

Reflected in the River Thames
the blue of a March sky
still and peaceful water there
as I walk slowly by
Underneath the overground
at Kew, West London way
walking by the river
on an early Springtime day

drifting

dozing in the long reeds

dreaming

where the river goes

~

Home II

 

Crossing the bridge of a morning
the river reaching down to the sea
With boats there at rest, a reminder
that this is just where I wanted to be

Riverside view

 

On the river at Shoreham
the water is clear
In this place that I love
and hold very dear
The boats on the mudflats
with the tide on the turn
Lie at rest by the pontoons
with bow against stern

Stopham Bridge II

An afternoon at Stopham Bridge
near Pulborough in the the sun
is quite the perfect thing to do
when a long week is done

The River

 

As the sun sets over shadowed hills
the tidal river flows
Meandering through the valley plain
as out to sea it goes
Enraptured in this evening light
we amble hand in hand
From High Trees along the river bank
in this fine Sussex land

Lewes

 

It’s not raining in Lewes
which is refreshingly nice
As we have lunch by the river
with coffee and pies

There’s a warmth in the air
but we still wear cagoules
as there’s threat in the sky
by the calm river Ouse