Gillian Sargeant, Icon of Frida Kahlo, 12″ X 9,” acrylic
naughty boy
when I was in Uposhahar,
I wrapped Rajshahi silk sarees around my curves,
you didn’t say, “Mashallah, you look exquisite”
everyone drenched me with saccharine & honey
—- except for you
you didn’t gift me fresh-cut roses,
nor did you send me hand-inked letters
—- on the day of my birth
you didn’t greet me with a cheese or
caress my chubby cheeks
—- at the Shahjalal International Airport
— your inertia causes me to think I am hitched to a siliceous shale —
now, on Emirates EK 204, I ruminate about:
the time you had set up the fuchsia moshari
at 2am to protect me from striped mosquitoes
lest I catch chikungunya
& folded the blankets at sunrise just to watch me beam
& when I whined about my pancaked pillows
you rushed to fetch me puffy pads
& when you saw me off at the terminal,
your chocolate chatter filled me to the
brim
enough to last me 6 months
— till we meet again
________________________
Sanjida Yasmin