Unfaithful month

I spent the last night with your lover 
In her 52 hands are 10 fingers only
Beneath her lips grasses are growing wild 
The cholesterol shoots up when the lover is vegan 
He hisses words on a May night 
Those who are rejoicing the news of 
Rohingya rehabilitation 
Do not know that here evening is synonymous to Article 144 
You can't even kiss your child now 
I have told your lover 
To send me news when the sea gets heavy 
I told her 
Men live on sex but not on love  

Translated by Quamrul Hassan.

Umma Habiba is a poet and theater activist from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her debut poetry collection, Ghashe Ghashe Roktoful, was published in 2022. 

Quamrul Hassan is an author, poet and an MFA Candidate of Creative Writing and Translation at the University 
of Arkansas.