The Mother’s Quest

My mind is in response:
Life flows by like out
    skirts of distracted
    thoughts, with
A small orchard
And a cottage
Two little children with the company of a
    loving heart.

In one small room
Runs the railway train,
The boatman sails,
And the pilot takes off
    the plane
I know not if their half
    formed songs
Mock this greedy world
    of grown up men.

They draw the stars in
    the
     midday sky,
And measuring the
  river’s depth
     on the floor,
Report it to somebody
    who is not there
They know not what
    desire to hide
What secrets to conceal,
And in broken words
They mutter out their
    unformed
     thoughts.

After a restless day of
     playing,
The pilot, the boat man,
     and the driver,
In the tired evening
They sleep their cares
    away
Their restless faces
    inspired
A craze
For peace
In the mother’s heart.

             [ Translated by Navakanta Barua ]