I made love at war sites.At Hiroshima, at Nanjing, at DhakaI ran through blood and the fresh paints.I sang through the cracks of the new buildings,Caressed the strong, high monuments as they were raised. One woman smirked,“You can’t do it like that,You have to sit on it,and please!” One man stared,“You go girl,Undo yourself,Let not …
Bluewater and Orange Sky
(I) An extended night is so far awayAnd under the woods on a stormy nightWith mouths of headache and lace of kicks around the headHe sees nothing but the dripping starry night all overWhile the dog barks at the top of its lungsSolace is some strokes without an aimWhich would be a dime then penny, …
থ্যাঙ্কসগিভিং
ভুলে, আমার মাথা খুজে পাইবিছানায়, ধুয়ে-মুছে ওর জানালার-কিনারায়এতো সব চোদার পরেও, দেখ!আকাশ ঝুলে আছে, আলপিনের তলায়চোখ বন্ধে, ওর নাক আরো লম্বাপুরা সময়, ওকে ধরে আছি,ভিড়ে, মোচড়ানো, ভাজে,মোড়ণে, মাথা নত, আলহামদুলিল্লাহএমন কারো জন্য যে আমার দমবন্ধ করে রাখে। আমি ওর জীবনের উপরএতো হালকা হয়ে পরবো বোধগম্যই হবে নাআমি তার।কোন দাগ ছাড়বো নাওর বালিশে, কাগজেডিভিডি, ছুরি, ওয়াইনের …
Peripheries
I am the night, coaxing in quiet yet murmuring lakesand slippery, rain-coated cobbled streets – freshly writtenlike a round faced moon. With the andromeda of old buildings and the arc of music jingles, on the ears, walking home from classes conducted at evening. I am the solitary. Looping on music, watching videos, streaming into digital …
The Erasure of Islam from the Poetry of Rumi
A couple of years ago, when Coldplay’s Chris Martin was going through a divorce from the actress Gwyneth Paltrow and feeling down, a friend gave him a book to lift his spirits. It was a collection of poetry by Jalaluddin Rumi, the thirteenth-century Persian poet, translated by Coleman Barks. “It kind of changed my life,” …
Space
Empty. Blank. Hollow. Void…Break. Gap. Clear. Open. Free. Space is grey. Ashes. Concrete. Metals. Fumes. VILESpace is fluid. Eyes. Water. Air. PURE “I need a break.”SpaceIt’s over.“I need a break.”SpaceTo start afresh. “I have nothing to say.”SpaceDistance.“I have nothing to say.”SpaceComfort. “I need a gap.”Space Disruption of flow.“I need a gap.”SpaceInterval leading to momentum. “I lack purpose.”SpaceDisarray.“I lack purpose.”SpaceA …
মধ্যবিত্ত ক্রাইসিস
এক বর্ষায় বাবার চাকরি চ’লে যায়। আমি তখন ছয় বছর। আর এইভেবে অবাক হই বাবার মনে আনন্দ নাই! দুর্ভাগ্যের চূড়ায় দাঁড়ানোআমার বোকা বাবা হাসতে ভুলে যান। আর আমার সিরিয়ালপ্রিয় মাহুট করেই সেলাই প্রেমী হ’য়ে ওঠেন। প্রতিবেশীদের সব জামা সেলাইকরতে করতে মা বদলে যান। মায়ের সবগুলো দিন আর সমস্ত প্রিয়রাত ছিনতাই ক’রে নেয় একটি সেলাই মেশিন। …
These Are The Best Books Of 2019
Fiction The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday) In this magnificent novel, Whitehead once again draws inspiration from true atrocities of America’s past, this time creating a fictional account of a real-life Florida reform school for boys that was infamous for torturing and killing its poor black students, and then secretly burying their bodies, in …
Why is poetry having a moment?
Poetry sales are soaring but why is the art form making a comeback? We ask members of the LSE community what they think. On the last Friday of every month, Café 54 in the New Academic Building is home to LSE Chill – the School’s open mic night for budding performers. During November’s event, Economics …
Reminiscence
It’s just like the college life, all the same,when I was a teen and so were you;the same excitement and the same feelings…It’s good and amazing—the feelings,the feeling of love and being loved;and fear of losing…“Bird, you are not cheating on me, are you?”Each day I hear a lot of stories of cheating around me, …