In the full blaze of noon, in the spell of dreams

 
At such a time, on such a spring afternoon, heavy with warmth,
if you were here beside me, what would it be like?
Tell me, truly, if you were here beside me, what would it be like?


If on such a drowsy afternoon you were near,
finger pressed to finger, counting to a hundred, I'd fall back into old, forgotten ways,
spread my childhood dollhouse across the table and play with dolls,
wear a spring-red sari with a moon-large vermillion mark across my forehead
and sit wordlessly on your lap without asking permission, curled up quiet...


Imagine, if on such a spring moment your office suddenly let out!
If you came home and scolded me a thousand ways, saying, do you just sleep all day?
Or if you said, today these feet are aching terribly, will you massage them?
What would I do then?
Afraid of you, I'd take down all the old ships of books from their shelves,
dust them off, sit...and read.
Pull everything from the wardrobe...get busy folding clothes again,
or find some trivial excuse to hide away in the kitchen!
Still I wouldn't come near you, afraid to touch those feet!


Imagine, if suddenly you came home from office without notice?
On this heavy afternoon...you know, I long for such moments,
if such a thing happened, how terribly happy I would be!
Perhaps in my joy I'd even cry a little!
It would be wonderful, if sometimes you really did come home like that!
All the quarrels of this life I've been storing up bit by bit, half by half...
thinking someday I'll settle them with interest,
I'd resolve them all today in this opportunity!


Though I know, I know well enough, if I started all that
you'd never come home at noon again, not even by mistake!
So I'd make full use of this chance today!
Otherwise I'd let slip the question I've been holding back...
where are we going for vacation this winter?
Why is it always just work, only work?
Don't I get to have you too?


Imagine, nothing more than this, a whole afternoon
spent listening to Rabindranath, or Jagjit, or Nazrul
together, just the two of us?
Or I'd make my usual demand that you sing to me?
And say this too, won't you read me a poem today?


Well, if such an afternoon really came, what would you do, tell me?
What else would you do...you'd still be snoring away in sleep!
Or just sit in front of that stupid box, lost in imagination,
while roaming in that realm, would you even remember me!
Don't I know all this?
Do you even have time to give me time...


Well, will I ever get such a precious afternoon in this life?
Will you ever give such a grand gift just for me?
Will you ever come to be mine alone...for one whole afternoon?


This is how I think!
Thinking and thinking, I grow breathless,
with tired eyes I fall asleep,
wake again...
find I've forgotten everything,
start it all over again from the very beginning!