July on Food Street
Nuzhat Amin Mannan
On summer evenings
They are out in droves
Mothers, uncles, aunts, nephews, ayis, in-laws,
With girlfriends, mistresses, chums, neighbours,
Chess-partners, colleagues, children, pets
Eating outdoors under umbrellas, sitting on
Middleclass patio chairs with their Qingdao beer bottles
Ruddy, happy faces inhaling their
karma, the warm July city air
the barbecue vendors' goodies,
aroma of mutton sizzling over cumin, propane,
Cigarette smoke...Nuzhat Amin teaches English at Dhaka University. The poem was written during a stay in China.
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