Somehow, the taste of tear gas
Leave a flower from your bun when you depart, my love.
Translated by Mohammad Shafiqul Islam
Stay in a group, never in alleyways
In the blanks of muddy moonlight
Magic boys and girls of Bangladesh, I love you.
The July wind brought in the scent of new beginnings
A walkway through the crystal-clear lies
Review of 'Shamim Reza: Selected Poems' (ULAB Press, 2023)
You've ignited a tempest, / a crimson anger, / A defiance burning brighter than the summer's sun
the way there was complete silence when you lied for the first time. You opened your eyes
But talks of harmony flood your nose. / Harmony, harmony, harmony—you want it so bad, / and so you put words in our mouths
“Attention passengers. The next train arriving is a B train traveling westbound towards Boston College. Please stand clear of the closing doors."
a man walks into a bar but he looks like a little boy
the bullet hole/ in my brother's chest/ unfolds like a pandora's box
My father speaks in a dismantled language that goes up in smoke.
justice—where is justice?
Where voices unite, a chorus strong, / Demanding justice, righting wrong
‘You must bury / yourself / Every three days’ / She said, / ‘Corpses are of / No use