Rumiana*
“Rumiana” is an unending series of Rumi-influenced verse-utterances composed in mobile phone encrypted in txt-language. There is a constant negotiation between I and you, one and 1, in and out, pretentiousness and spontaneity, depth and depthlessness, merging and emerging . . . it’s a play and it can be accessed in as many ways as one can/not! Rumi-inspired sufistictxtry (poetry formed in txt, or SMS language)
Alaap 1
I am the mystery that flows like fire thru stream
I am the history that wakes in light whole dream
I am the one that is two
I am the One that is too
I am ——— that is you
I am ——— that is who . . .
Alaap 2
The One is I, the One is you
> How long have we been with heads held high
Stridin ’cross plains & waters, movin thru heights & depths
To reach a land which is no land
To suck a sun which is moon
. . . it seems like dream . . . death-like . . . cool, secret, in/violate
> Empty your desire/Bridge your distance/Unlock your door
’Cause you is I and I are you
Alaap 3
When u enter da enigma, who penetrates who?
When u wade thru darkness, who devours who?
Light is always out there, like design, order, but nevrindepndnt . . .
Darkness iz real . . . chaos, mystery, the beginning . . .
So when u see darknss with eyes wide shut, when u see thru darkness,
U see da beginning
There u find Me . . .
& I You . . .
Thru da Great Spirit . . .
21
Silence is talkative >
Coz u cannot silence silence>>
Silence means>
Either dat u r not here >
Or dat u don’t care >>
Wordz only giv silence sound >
Meaning residez between wordz>
Which is silence >
Or breath may be >>
I move thru silence >
Be my wordz>>
39
Do we dream 2 compensate >
What nevrhappnd? >
Do we dream 2 prophesy >
Whatzgonnahappn? >
Do we dream 2 substitute >
What will nevahappn? >>
We never dream d impossble>
Only we aren’t sure >
If da people in our dream >
Are we! >>
41
Don’t u dream these nightz? >
Or don’t u sleep? >
Then slip >
In2 da dream of sleep >
& sleep yr dream >>
Howzzit possible >
That I am& u don’t dream? >>
50
U comprehend hw small u r >
Whn u find yrself under da dark open sky >>
See? >
U see it thru a pair of small eyez>
Eyez that reflect da whole dark sky >>
See >
U are eye >
U are I >>
90
They who claim luv iz pain >
Tell them therez no pain >
Only joy & absence of joy >>
Ur nearness makes moments so full >
Dat sleeps go sleepin>
Ur awayness makes moments so heavy >
Dat sleeps stay away >>
Insomnia both way >
With u or widout u >
Keeps me awake >
Keeps u a presence >
Eithr u or d absence of you >>
Khuda remains thiz way >>
108
Whndrknss is spreading itz hijab dwn d sky >
Ur fingrzmuvlyk a curious eyeball >
Seducing lyricl juice out f d blck n whytkeyz>
2 push a gaze behind d veil >
2 sound d pulse f drknss>>
U heard me d music f drknss>
& I went a drunk diwana>
Roamin round valleyz&alleyzunknwn>
Touchin d beat f living a moment >
Coz I learnt wht I 4got in daylight >
Datdrknssiz d qalb of lyf>>
Bionote
Mashrur Shahid Hossain is a Professor of English, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He teaches and has presented and published papers chiefly on comparative literature, postcolonialism, cultural studies, gender and queer studies, media, and education. Presently he is working on critical comparative poetics and Ngugi wa Thiong’o.
