Tasneem Hossain (Towards Visibility)

Tasneem Hossain

DEPARTURE OF THE DEAD

Travelling through the darkness of night;

Journeying across plains and mountains,

Oceans and the sky in daylight;

I cross the realms of reality, illusions and dreams.

 

Corrupt cells burning through veins circling in blaze;

Fever and frenzy, distaste and bone jerking pain;

Arrows and needles prick with insurmountable aches.

 

Hollow eyes, spotted blue skin;

Medicines pile, injections increase;

Hungry yet nothing I can eat.

 

Days and nights crawl like a snail in distress.

Frequent visits to hospital beds;

Medication, injection oxygen fail;

There is a knock at the door.

 

Nothingness surrounds, Darkness engulfs.

Mother cries, father sighs,

Weariness of the declining cells

Give way to the profound light from the skies.

 

ETERNAL LIFE

 

Sun may shine today or tomorrow decline,

light of sun it holds inside;

shinning brighter, it will forever rise.

 

Thunderstorms darken the blue sky above,

clouds and lightening covers, blanket of gloom;

the blue sky forever shines anew.

 

The moon eclipses, covered with darkness soon;

sun’s love lightens, glows fully bright the new moon

dazzling the dark sky in silvery bloom.

 

The never ending water of oceans flow,

wombs of the oceans forever with water grow;

 

Tsunami’s tidal waves drown the earth below,

Earth with nature’s abundance, surfaces meadows.

 

Small gestures of friendship, love and blessings

meaningful moments of happiness remain;

small miracles happen in different forms.

Dreams come true, we transform.

 

Time may fly, one may die.

The soul forever in heaven flies.

 

 

I AM A PROSTITUE

 

Dazzling a smile, through cheap lipstick I wink,

Making the onlookers drool and blink;

Adorned in tight skirts with slits,

Low necked blouse and tight fitted jeans,

Painted nails with matching high heels.

Let the lechers know what I mean.

Don’t care what others may think,

I am a ‘leper’ or a ‘dirty chick’.

 

Drenched in strong perfume I let the beggars beg.

Drown in oblivion, I take too many pegs.

Crying in the rain, filled with filth

Washing away my so called sins and silt;

 

O you great passersby!

Don’t you dare judge me or even try,

For little do you know how I came here and why.

I was for them just a costly good to supply.  

 

However much I shriek or cry,

Here my freedom is denied.

These are not the choices I have made,

I am a slave of human trade.

 

Tasneem Hossain is a multi-lingual poet (English, Bangla, and Urdu) from Bangladesh. Her wanderings in other areas of literature include fiction, translation, academic pieces and op-eds. Her writings appear in anthologies, different dailies, and annual publications of different countries. E.g. International Human Rights Art Festival, Southern Arizona Press (USA), Borderless Journal (Singapore), Polis Magazino (Greece), Migosepta Global (Indonesia), Discover Mississauga and More-eBook (Canada), Krishnochura (UK), EDAS Chronicle, The Dhaka Literature, An Ekushey Anthology, bdnews24.com, The Daily Star, The Business Standard and Asian Age Online (Bangladesh). Her published poetry books are The Pearl Necklace, Floating Feathers, and Grass in Green (published in USA); and a book of articles Split and Splice. She majored in English Language and Literature from Dhaka University. She is the Director of Continuing Education Centre, a human capacity development organisation. She worked as faculty in Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET). She also worked as newscaster, commentary reader, interviewer, and radio presenter in radio Bangladesh for 10 years and participated in many national sports championships. She resides both in Canada and Bangladesh.

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Setu, September 2023 :: Towards Visibility