Probably poems or may not

Rediscovering the poetry of Mahfuz Al-Hossain...

I have been in constant contact with Mahfuz Al-Hossain's poetry for the last few years. Obviously, such attachment arises out of love for his verses, a mixture of realism and surrealism. I love reading his poems for three reasons---for his reader-friendly diction; secondly, for his experimentation with contemporary themes and subject matters; and lastly, for his intimate invitation to the readers to his world of poetry.
 In this review, I attempt to shed light upon the poems from his lately published book titled Probably Poems or May Not. At the outset, I must mention that I have gone through the collection in one sitting. Generally, it takes some days for me to finish reading any poetry book. But, Mahfuz Al-Hossain's poetry, especially this collection, has compelled me to carry on till the end.
His poems advocate life with all its odds and happiness. These never escape the reality and harshness of our life. They capture the bittersweet relationship of human life. In the preface to the book, Ashok Kar, a Bangladeshi poet living abroad, mentions, "His poems are in every aspect represent the flavor of humanity with its relation to the society, nature and psychology."The collection contains four parts---Daily Musings, Few Feelings, Poems on Sale and Surreal Consequences. Each part appears with distinct features ranging from contemporary life to politics and ideologies. The beginning part, Daily Musings, starts with Akashleena depicting the poet's utter sadness due to the untimely death of one of his poet friends. He mourns by saying,
  Leaving your poetry note books, lovely children and colourful
 flowers of rooftop garden
 why you've planted deadly grass in your heart?
This elegy by Mahfuz Al-Hossain makes the readers cry. We also mourn the death of Akashleena.
The second part, 'Few Feelings', comes up with some compositions expressing the poet's feelings about numerous issues. In Immortal Words, Mahfuz Al-Hossain revisits the historic 7th March speech by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He mentions how people prepared themselves to fight the onslaught of the attackers at the call of Bangabandhu during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The following lines drenched me with love:
The poet appeared before human-sea
Recited his immortal poem instantaneously
And in response three million people
Sacrificed their lives willingly
The third part, 'Poems on Sale', magnificently brings various issues into focus. Amid them, I liked most the way the poet focuses on the issue of poet's strength and poetry. He mentions,
Poetry doesn't care anybody---you cannot tell them to be shy
May detain a poet in custody--- Can't you stop his stanzas
These lines remind me of Ngugi wa Thiong'o's seminal work, 'Wrestling with the Devil' in which he tells that the jail authority imprisoned him but couldn't imprison his mind and the flow of thoughts that drove him to write incessantly staying in prison. So likewise, Mahfuz Al-Hossain mentions in the aforesaid poem that one can imprison a poet physically, but one cannot deprive a poet of the spontaneity of feelings and thoughts that ultimately give birth to poem or any creative work.
On the other hand, "Prayers for Martyred Intellectuals" reveals how the poet prays for the departed souls of all the intellectuals who were killed during our Liberation War. He remembers the martyred intellectuals for their contributions to the struggle of our national emancipation. His hatred for the Paki-killers for their heinous acts is vivid in the following lines:
Let all the infamous Rajakars, Al badar and Al shams
be tried and thereby adjudged to make them walk to the gallows
irrespective of whom or wherever they're
Let me conclude with "Twenty Second Srabon", purporting how the treasure of Rabindranath Tagore's literary works enriches us all the time. I fell in love with the following verses:
His golden boat is filled with
yields of glittering glories of civilizations.
Mahfuz Al-Hossain's anthology Probably Poems or May Not carries a polyphonic voice because it captures four different voices in four separate parts. I believe the poems of the collection will take him beyond the border. He represents our culture and history through his creations. The book would get a large readership, no doubt. Last but not least, I must thank the publisher of BehulaBangla for publishing the poetry collection with sincerity and care.
Probably Poems or May Not, Cover Design: Mostafiz Karigar, Published by BehulaBangla, February 2020, Price: 250 BDT
Tusar Talukder is an Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Central Women's University, Dhaka