City of Rivers // Poems by Zubair Ahmed

“We used to play soccer in the monsoon rains.
Through my windows, I can see acres of fields,
Lying in the ruins of the wind.”

In 2012,

Bangladeshi poet

Zubair Ahmed

released a collection

known as City of Rivers.

Only 23 at the time,

the book is both

sobering and surreal,

telling of struggle and survival

through sadness, loss,

violence, mixed

with elements

of loving and embrace.

At 77 pages,

it's a quick read,

but don't be fooled:

these poems are dense

and demand more

than a quick glance.

Have a taste: