"Anek Kotha Jao Je Bole"

You say a lot, but not what you hide,

And so in sighs unheard I confide-

Smiles you cast at who dwells in deep-

Or stolen glances, for you to safely keep.

And so to your rescue I retreat- I, then, quit.

Windows to the soul that, brazen, shine-

Light a little world of yours, not that of mine.

What if that cloak you have on warms you, not me?

And so do I spare you — loose you — I leave you be.

"Aaj Shraboner Amontrone"

It's monsoon that calls me out,

As the door creaks time to time,

And all strings detached, I float around

With the World on my hills, in a perfect beat;

While unruly, her tippet, too, drops in sync.

Words of the ancient I hear

In a trembling life anew closing near,

And Follow that East wind chasing the skies — as does my mind—

It lives and dies — after a life as old as death.

Nishat Atiya Shoilee is a Lecturer in the Department of English and Humanities at ULAB. She is also a sub-editor in the Literature and Review pages of The Daily Star.