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"Prayer", "Apocalypse" & "Auspicious Evening" by Mozid Mahmud



Prayer


Mahfuza, your body is my rosary

I observe you and my prayer is done

In any prayer other than yours

My body is not cowed in such attention

I am exhausted in your fire

So that you can be happy

At your closeness arises vigorous God

Then being a shield you check His slanting rays

By getting your touch my pangs come down by seventy times

I every day practice the exact spelling of your name

Somewhere Tasdid Zazam seems to be read

Man listens to my overflowed recitations

With your name is sacrificed my offspring

Keeping head in immolation frame modern-Ismail will not tremble

Mahfuza your body is my rosary

I observe you and my prayer is done.



Apocalypse


An old angel wakes me up

Placed me on your two shoulders

You cannot see me, I could not either

Yet with both hands I continue writing your ruling orders

At times I intend to inform you

What a lot you have

In the same body we dwell

Alas! Such a misfortune how we never see each other

So to let you know the manuscript of my writing life

I will wait till the resurrection.



Auspicious Evening


On an auspicious evening we went out along with you

On the ancient path of the world

Standing for a while at the estuary of Trideba we went to the west

In that deep forest we sensed- the awakening of life

Do you remember the life killing stories of setting sun at Tribeny

Then the lioness cubs were drawing water from mother’s breasts

Walking by the river side we built up human habitation

Do you remember in excellent description those penetrable memories

Not of Magadh nor of Maithily I was the prince of Shakya

You were the well- bred young girl

Though today is the time of Nirvana,

I do not differentiate between Sujata and Chunda.




Mozid Mahmud is an author and poet based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has previously worked in academia as well as in journalism, before branching off into social work. Originally a writer of Bengali fiction, this is is first foray into English language literature. Some of Mozid Mahmud’s previous works in Bangla dealt with Rabindranath, Jibanananda Das, and of course, Nazrul. Recently, his essay "The Literary Capitals of Bengal '' came out from Commonwealth Writers' Adda forum.

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