Ms Bunny Sen

been buggering around this goddamn city 

for godknowshowlong – 

feels like a thousand bloody years, 

no kidding; 

from bongshal's rancid restaurants 

to gulshan's toxic lake 

I've trod every effing inch 

& on pitch‑dark nights 

of power outages as well. 

i've been in burra kuttra 

in grey twilight 

& in distant rayerbazar 

in moonless dark, 

& all for what 

i ask you­ – 

a few bloody takas 

for which i have to shout 

myself hoarse 

tutoring the unteachable 

scions of nouveau riche swine 

swimming in champagne bubbles, 

i feel absobloodylutely 

knackered, i tell you, 

just couldn't go on 

if it weren't for a few moments 

with ms bunny sen 

of banglamotor.

o her hair is like the dark sky 

above sangsad bhaban 

& her face is just 

like aishwairiya's. 

imagine a sailor 

adrift on a wreck 

suddenly coming upon 

a green island 

smelling of rich spices – 

­that's how i felt when she came 

and sat across the table 

in a dimly-lit fast food joint, 

spreading the musky scent

of allure (from chanel); 

whatsup? she said 

raising those gorgeously 

made‑up eyes 

like exotic bird's nests – 

­i could just curl up 

inside them 

and happily 

die.

when day goes kaput 

the dark sneaks in 

like silent dew; 

buzzards wipe the smell 

of sun off filthy wings; 

colour seeps out of everything. 

in faraway hamlets 

glowing fireflies announce 

it's storytelling hour; 

time to take pen and paper 

out of the jammed drawer 

& do my daily 

creative writing act –  

­tho' godaloneknows

to what bloody end. 

the birds come home to roost, 

the bleeding rivers end where they began, 

life's wheeling & dealing 

can't go on forever; it's all 

dark, dark, dark 

but for the tete‑a‑tete 

with ms bunny sen of banglarnotor.

Kaiser Haq has just retired as professor of English from the University of Dhaka; he is currently the Dean of Humanities at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, and a poet and translator.