Had I been a river, I would have run
to meet the sea.
Had I been the moon, I would have floated
smiling on the sky.

Had I been a cloud, I would have poured down water
over the paddy and jute-fields.
Had I been a lamp, I would have spread light
in each corner of each dark house.

Had I been crops, I would have grown
being gold.
Had I been fire, I would have burnt
the body of an oppressor.

But if I had been a missile, I would have killed those
who bring only war on this earth.

[Translation of Bangla poem ‘Akangkha’ taken from the poet’s first book ‘Pronoyer Prothom Pap’ (1996) ]