The Tiger of Bangladesh

A Poem by Shirley Wontas

a Metaphor ~ in Narrative Form



Between the Indian plains and the hills of Burma.
Protected by the affection of its three guardians, 
The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
From there - this story began.
 
On a grassland full of hopes and dreams. 
Right at the edges of Brahmaputra river.
Lying there without any wheezes,
A sad and lonely royal bengal tiger.

He remembers the smell of the Sal trees,
In Bhawal Park near Dhaka, his place of birth.
He remembers the sounds of peacocks, elephants, and deers
His heart wish they were not yet became a myth. 

He has been a part of Pohela Boishakh feast.
When people bathe early and dress in fine clothes.
All the men put on their kurta, or the finest lungi at least
While women dress in sharee, letting their beauty to be exposed.

Tears streamed from his cheek. As the old tiger weep.
A momentary recalled the legends of his ascendant. 
The story of the one whose once Sultan beloved,
And the one whose survives the liberation war in 1971.

The tiger now stood, underline his courage and chivalry. 
"Will this liberty be felt by my offspring?" his mind fly.
Despite the poverty, instability, and all its vulnerability, 
There is more to Bangladesh than meets the eye.