Photo: Abeer Hoque
I will visit you
when my country floats
in a water-hyacinth,
and ponder how much
I know of your flavour
by catching boaal
and chital fish together.
I will walk the sunset
that loses itself
in your plum-black water.
I have come to admire
the resilience of this tiger land
where the snake takes on a life
quicker than my hands,
adding its signature
branch by branch,
then surprises me
when the floodwater returns
over and over to trace
the same monsoon tide.
Rice grasses rustle
as I row my pleasure boat over
their smallest leaning
and it is time, once again
to get to know
the clay at the river-bottom
that colours my skin
like comforting chocolate.
~ Mir Mahfuz Ali
Mir Mahfuz Ali was born in Dhaka, but left Bangladesh after being shot by a policeman during an anti-war demonstration. After arriving in Britain, he worked as a tandoori chef and a male model. His poetry has appeared in London Magazine, Poetry London, Ambit and Index on Censorship, and was published in the Bloodaxe anthology ‘Ten: New Poets’ (Bloodaxe Books/Spread the Word, 2010). An unforgettable performer, he has given readings at venues including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the National Theatre of Slovenia in Ljubljana.
