In Sweat, In Hunger -- a Poem

Sixty-year-old Abdul Hai, a rickshawpuller from Jhalakathi, takes a nap in hours of hunger near Jagannath Hall after he migrated to the capital in search of job. http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/08/20/d4082001044p.htm

In Sweat, In Hunger

By Mahbubul Karim (Sohel)

August 20, 2004

I start like a charlatan whiz

pretend to save the world

in the rain or in the drought

my ambitions glide

like a morbid pebble rippling

through a serene pond

in a hot summer day

That man naps

in sweat, in hunger

curly whitish pain

scattered in full-grown beard

his hands

rested on rusty metal

of a rickshaw

standing in heat

pitiless

earth broken

in dream, in wake

My heart pounds on misery

My ears ache

My eyes shed tears

I start like a charlatan whiz

pretend to save the world

He naps

in sweat, in hunger

not knowing heart

pounding, aching or tears of mine

that rickshaw puller

cracks a smile

in dream, in wake

as if he mocks

in silence

at the pretensions

at the flashy tears and aches

of the world and mine

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