Hossain Shohag

Elf

I used to tell the tale of a girl— alone—
She looked just like a fairy carved in stone.
...

আমার কবর পাশে কেঁদো না দাঁড়িয়ে─
আমি তো ওখানে নেই, যাইনি ঘুমিয়ে!
আমি হাজারো বায়ুর─ প্রবাহিত গতি─
আমি তুষারের কোলে হীরকের জ্যোতি;
...

We never were the worst within our past,
Nor bad today, nor lesser than we'll last—
For now, wherever life may set our course,
Or what we were, or will be at the source.
...

All the others,
Who are trying to hold you—
Through their love,
Why won't you be theirs?
...

Sleep is a transitory death—
And death, an eternal sleep.
This drowsy time between sleep and death
Is what we call life.
...

No poetry is poetic but you— my love,
Upon your skin, my verses I start to write—
You lie beneath, and I am on you, above,
Ink flows from heart to body, dark and bright.
...

Whatever's smooth is sound,
Whatever's harsh is noise—
Whatever falls in scale is melody;
All are defined by choice.
...

Oh princess of Arabian nights, Yasmine,
The gift from God, a beauty evermore—
I wish to have an all-seeing eye, keen
To see you every moment I adore.
...

Each thing we leave allows a new to rise,
When someone goes, another will arrive—
We must let go to find what's meant to be,
For others lose so we can then receive.
...

After I met you, it seemed so clear,
You were the one I'd sought for all these years—
After I met you, it seemed, my dear,
You were the one to answer all my prayers.
...

Before I write a poem, I must fall—
In love with poetry, with character apart.
And give my heart to them all—
Imagining a muse to guide my art.
...

Oh poet, how to praise you, I don't know,
These, your enchanted words make me dismayed—
They are not just words, but heartbeats that grow,
Oh beloved, your verses, deep and staid.
...

This phase is gift, we were not here before,
Imagine this vast universe anew—
This is the first time we are here, adore
A life untouched, where everything is true.
...

When you want poems on rainy days from me,
The rain itself turns ink to write you near—
Your skin, a canvas, words flow wild and free,
Each drop a verse that brings your essence here.
...

Any great creation of imagination is called art—
Or, art is the finest presentation of the finest thoughts.

Any art that is visual is named sight,
...

Everyone fights to win; I fight to lose at you—
To lose at you is my great victory, it's true.
Everyone fears death, but love fears not a thing—
It makes one brave, to accept all it can bring.
...

Do not remain distant— give me your shade,
Oh goddess of love, drown me in love's flame.
In the cloud's chamber, weave our hidden bed,
Let's mingle in air, water, earth the same.
...

Although none can be both ethical and political,
Without ethics, politics turns to barbarism—
Government and state, though often identical,
Differ greatly in true democracy's prism.
...

Why do you stay so far away? My love—
I fly to reach you, soaring like a dove.
I reunite Seoul, Busan, just to meet—
Also swim across Han— no easy feat.
...

If someone wipes your eyes─
Or wants to wipe away your tears,
That one loves you;
If your eyes become wet─
...