I carried him for almost three decades
Enveloping him with thick dust
Of a continual oblivion
In an untouchable corner
Of my mind

I carried him without feeling his
Featherlike weight in my body
Only occasionally
Opening the tin of colours in which he stayed
Opening the way one opens an already read poetry collection
Any page any poem and read
I read and occasionally cried for him

My mother’s Dog
She called him Baabul
That loosely translates sweet heart

Unusual for a country household
In Bangladesh to offer a home
Made of love as strong as offered
To a human relation
To a dog
Almost a Dalmatian without the spots
With pinch of more of black and less of white
That was Baabul my mother’s Dog

This afternoon in a poetic animation
Baabul opened himself up again
But today he weighed more than
The whole planetary gravitation of earth
He weighed too much in fact
I felt things were pouring out into my eyes
That became red burning and wet
Baabul became so heavy
I could not carry him any longer
Baabul my mother’s sweet heart Dog
Against whom I came to fight
For her attention and love

Baabul would follow her
Shadowlike in daylight
And silencelike at dark
He would run ahead of her
Scanning the road smelling
He would run near enough the speed of light
Few hundred yards and back again
Circling around my mother
To say it was safe to go
Baabul would follow her
Even if she beat him to death
Which she would never ever do
Other than a few words of mild telling off
He would regardless stay with her
Threats of beatings or severe scolding
None worked with him

People’s old wisdom says
Dogs could see and smell
Evil or ghosts or spirits
Baabul one day ran ahead of mother
And came back but his tongue was out
As though somebody was trying to rip it off
He was short of breath
And he could hardly stand
He barked hard and fast
First circling mother as a spinning top
While she continued to walk
In failing at stopping her
He sat on the road where mum would step
His eyes full with tears begging her not to go
He bit her saree and kept hold of it
She came to heed

Baabul never bit mother in his life
Having stopped her he felt calm
But weak coming back home terribly sick
Baabul took his mission to protect my mother
Who made hers in return to offer him love

Baabul would not eat from anybody
Other than mother
Later on life he accepted me
Having failed to stop her loving me as much
He would eat from me
Baabul ate what we all did
Baabul my mother’s sweet heart Dog

One early morning I woke up
With heart melting cry of agony and pain
Mother hurrying like a mad woman
To do something to do something
To stop bleeding out of his right hind leg
That was chopped
The piece refused to separate
Hanging there by the skin
As though piece of my mother’s heart
I stood there
Swordlike eyes stared blank
Spelling: “Who could do such a barbarity
On such an angelic animal!”

Mother took her knowledge to test
Got some fresh Turmeric smashed into a paste
Heated it up and put it on Baabul joining the cut leg
Baabul cried like any human
His eyes wide opened tears falling like blood
Red eyes poked out to protest of the injustice
Done to him
Followed him our tears
A mother and a fourteen years old

Burglars found Baabul impossible to defeat
And finally they got hold of him
Baabul paid the price of loyalty
Better than man

Mother tried her best to cure him
Yet he continued travelling that last mile
Of his life in agony and pain
At night I would wake up
That heart piercing cry
Mixed with agony and pain
That cut through our hearts
In the heart of a fourteen year old boy
A prayer rang against the person
Who killed Baabul the sweet heart of my mother

Today Baabul came back seeing me
He weighed so much
I could not carry him anymore
Baabul I could not carry you anymore
And hope you still walk ahead of mother
Keeping her safe
And no human’s filthy violent hands could touch you
Inflicting the agony and pain that caused you
To leave us