Between Two Rivers

By Palash Mahmud

A man in the force
wrestlin’ into the blood of
the boy he shot.

 

The boy’s last breath crept
down the stairs of the Turkish Restaurant
Over the Sadoun street
Immixin’ with the sodden pebbles of
Tigris
Euphrates.

 

A woman on the Square
Turnin’ into a Cypress tree
Metamorphosed
500 bullets into redleaves
Engravin’ the names of
Hammurabi
Nebuchadnezzar
Alexander
Ali.

 

A goddess in a glazed brick
Gatherin’ in a vigil with
Dragon,
Bull
Lion.

 

To find a way to drive away the smoke
Of chaos,
Rockin’ the cradle of civilization.

 

To define freedom!
The most romantic invention
In space for whom we
Swimin’ into
The dialectical lake

 

Palash Mahmud is a bilingual writer and book critic based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has completed his BA and MA in Philosophy from Dhaka University. He is studying for an MA in Literature in English and Cultural Studies at Jahangirnagar University. His debut poem appeared in Active Muse, winter 2019 issue (India), was the grand prize winner of League of Poets competition 2020 and shortlisted for a flash fiction contest in Voice. Club. His book reviews & literary criticisms have appeared in Superstition Review, The Punch Magazine, Kitaab and is forthcoming elsewhere. He is working on translating some Bengali classics into English.