Marooned

A dream of me in a sea of green

the roar of the storm sending my sparrow shaped heart in spasms

My mum and dad,

her Tangail cotton in sattvick pleats, her pursed mouth normally shaped into a hymn to Tagore, now calling to me with a pulsating vein on

her temples like slated roof over simpleton cottages;

His linen pajamas slither, helpless reptilian, gather slim strokes of earth

his glasses, heavy, in touch with the salt-pepper and furrowed concern

They hover at the top right of my consciousness, a blur of an October owl, running towards me, yanking me away

to stir fry the homegrown asparagus in three spoonfuls of margarine and gulp it down

eagerly, with mushroom cream 

"no worries love the cat's here and your massive shaft of books sailing alright, stay all comfortable"

A remedy for a rainy day

Jahanara Tariq is an Adjunct Lecturer at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).