Saint Sebastian

By Raffaello Sanzio, in Bergamo

This is what the arrow sings:

So many feathers, never wings.

Between the finger and the thumb

He holds the arrow’s weighted shaft

As though the promised martyrdom

Took nothing but a painter’s craft

To choose the pigments he must crush,

The mortar he must mix them in,

And delicately lift a brush

To pierce the beauty of the skin.

This is what the arrow sings:

So many feathers, never wings.

The bright hem of his shirt engraves,

Like a crow’s footprints in the snow,

Stitches of minims on their staves

That show the arrows where to go.

The saint’s a mirror of the soul

That basks in this Italian air

Beneath the sun’s bright aureole

And looks to be translated there.

This is what the arrow sings:

So many feathers, never wings.

His tunic’s brush-strokes decorate

The soft anatomy they hide

With flowers multifoliate.

A heart is pumping blood inside,

And loosened arrows, swift and glib,

Will write upon the linen’s mesh

With furious hagiographic nib

Their model of the word made flèche.

This is what the arrow sings:

So many feathers, never wings.

Milton Halder

Bangladesh

Birthday: 31/12/1977

Email: halder_khokon@yahoo.com

Peace Missile

You, the broken world,

Asked my hands for building peace-

I gave them for a while,

Through canvas, image and convention,

Then withdrew them-

For, distress does bring justice

And war is good for my diplomacy.

You, the wounded nation,

Asked my mouth for speaking for justice-

I gave you a whisper,

Through conference, meeting, and discussion,

Then blocked them-

For, pain does release the poverty

And power helps me to control world.

You, the wrecked love,

Asked my eyes for removing the poverty-

I gave you a sight,

Through confederation, union and alliance

Then closed them-

For, suffering does give liberation

And globalization supports my superiority.

You, offended liberation,

Asked my legs for walking in solidarity-

I gave you some steps,

Through unification, amalgamation and confederacy

Then stopped them-

For, persecution does carry equality

And conflict gives me economic advantage.

You, the ruined equality-

Asked my life for giving new existence-

I gave you small part,

Through coalition, partnership and association

Then turned it back-

For, discrimination does offer freedom

And extinction provides my authenticity.

Date: 25/10/2008

Dinajpur,

Bangladesh.