Shabdaguchha

The International Poetry Journal in Bengali and English



Issue 39
Jan-Mar '08

Shamim Reza

Jerusalem

The burning smell of Jerusalem
And the last cry of the newborn babies
Streaming down through my blood.
I salute you—the sky, the remote world,
Roots, leaves and the branches—
The green semen of grass
Smashed under the tank
Or even everlasting time
The smell of dead souls in my feelings
Sound in the hip of sound—
Dissolving into my shadow
The distorted history of soil
The last breath
And poetry
My land
My motherland.



Shamim Reza (1970 - ) is the author of three books of poetry including Jakhon Rattir Naima Asay (When the Night Comes). He edited the literary supplement of the Daily Ajker Kagoj. The recipient of the Krittibus Award (2007), Mr. Reza teaches Bengali literature at Dhaka College.

Translated from the Bengali by Hassanal Abdullah


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    Shabdaguchha, A Journal of Poetry, Published in New York, Edited by Hassanal Abdullah.