FEAR

I feared death
and also life.

Though I feigned
to be fearless and brave,
I actually lived
with fear and fright.
Always I sang
“I’ll speak the truth
in the face of death”,
but at the moment of
telling a truth
I turned dumb
like a giraffe.

I feared the society
and also the rulers.
I feared the hooligans
and officers,
Father, brother, friends
and the money-lenders.
Even the wife and sons.
I feared them all.
I’ve never seen you,
but I feared you, too.

Now I’ve serious doubts
if I am still alive,
yet I can’t believe
that I am already dead.  

Translation :
Prafulla Kumar Tripathy