Poems of Sadat Sayem

Butterfly Life

A moment flash —
Jumping out of my eyes
Yellow grasshoppers, colorful butterflies,
Purple flowers, grey calves, playful bulbuls.

But then I see,
I am standing along the city road, oblivious
The rainy wind hits my face
Like the hem of the wet saree of my mother,
It melts away after caressing my face
Closely following a speeding car.

Ashar rain falls on my raincoat,
Like it fell from the wet hair of my lover
Rain droplets like tears.
Then a car honks, an ambulance siren rings
All I hear is the river flowing
Am I getting it back again
My long lost butterfly life!

But then I notice,
On the road, a whirlpool
And drowning in it, a dead Bulbul.

Cat-like Fish

I see a deep well in my dream
Filled with water to the brim
In it floats a cat-like fish sculpted out of stone
A recent creation of an artist

Sadat Sayem is a Bangladeshi writer who ventured into the realm of creative writing in 2020 when his debut book Hasikanna Store, a collection of short stories in Bangla, was published. The book received acclaim from a section of fellow writers and readers in the country. Based in Dhaka, Sadat Sayem writes short stories and poems in Bangla and English. The writer’s other books include Vora Kotal, a collection of poems in Bangla with their English translation, Disgrace and Others, a collection of short stories in English, and Miner Oshuk O Onnanyo Golpo, a collection of short stories in Bangla. His second poetry book ‘Khancha Bhangchhe Prothom Khorgosh’ will be published during Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026. Sadat Sayem’s English short story ‘The Bat of Chairman’s Complex’ was longlisted for the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. A postgraduate from the University of Dhaka, Sadat Sayem is a journalist by profession. He can be reached at sayemgou@gmail.com.

About Translator: Zarin Tasneem is a journalist for a-national-English-daily in Dhaka. She holds a Master’s degree in English with Honours from BRAC University, Dhaka. Born and lives in Dhaka. Her ancestral home is in Kushtia.
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