I Need an Eraser By J Alam

[The poet doesn’t expect the readers to read the sections of the poem as they are arranged. It is the readers’ privilege to choose anyway they like]

(5)

[Sine Die]

The swans play here at                        Mexico Bay

While            the Swallow winks and looks upward

The amble      at the riverbank       the bucolic green           the petrichor

The rickshaw-ride            the ride on raft                        the ride on shuttle

Go silent               Grow no color                          anymore

The rain drops at          the far                Bay of Bengal

And washes the Karnafully        The Golf club               and the Tong Ghor

(4)

[2020]

And then the microbes

I need a mask to date!

Buy a Pulse oximeter

Buy hand sanitizer

Social distancing                           From Karnafully to Mississippi

Forced Quarantine for 14 days

And then get a false report by              BDT 5000

Untouchables              the corpses         the hosts

(3)

[2018 & 2019]

The sky sheds tears in the farthest village

Ma gives a sigh and drops a tear

Abar kobe ashbi tui?

A sudden long unheard voice floats

Will you come back at all?

The Boeing B777-300 roars like a lion

(2)

[2010]

A timid hare passes                   by Hotel Noorjahan

You always miss the chances

Distrust larks like      the microbes

2005 BMW 325XI was in a hurry

The air blew like a fury

The levee is no more

(1)

Can rain wash memory?

Can rain wash the false report?

I NEED AN ERASER

I NEED AN ERASER

*Featured Painting with this poem is a famous painting “Blue Moby Dick” by Jackson Pollock