Far away from the crowd,
far from the glaring chaos;
out of the blaring car horns, 
out of the shrieks of loneliness,
out of all the madness that surrounds;
Out of the city, out of the cacophony
I chose to go and find solace.

I lay on the bench in the park.
The red krishnochura smiled
spread beauty and love around.
The cuckoos on the trees sang to me.
The green tree above lazed, gave me shade. 
The winds whispered lullabies,
crickets and grasshoppers chirped in harmony. 
The bright blue sky enveloped
all with light and energy. 
The white heavenly sky angels danced for me.

The two little tattered barefoot children
laughed and played,
brightening life with joyous laughter.

Echoes of their laughter spoke to me.
Don't you see? 
Don't you hear?
Within the boundaries of the broken walls,
open your inner eyes to the universe. 
Nature waits for positive affirmations,
The lovely essence of beautiful thoughts;
The peace you desire waits to be discovered.
Happiness lies only within. 

Tasneem Hossain is a multilingual poet, columnist, op ed columnist and training consultant. She is the director of Continuing Education Centre, Bangladesh.