Banished from heaven

By Abdullah Al Mamun

Banished from heaven is a poetry book by Abdullah Al Mamun. This is his debut poetry book. There are 54 poems in this book. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Jan 28, 2024

Book preview

An extraordinary tale

The creases on your face tell me

You have grimaced in pain

For centuries.

Your huge hand and rough skin,

The dirt beneath your fingernails

tell me you've been on the cotton field.

Your fat neck tells me you have been lynched

over and over from the old tree,

Because you wouldn't say My name is Toby.

Your strong chest and thick skin on the back tell me

you can take on a few hundred lashes easily,

And yet say My name is Kunta Kinte.

The smudge on your face,

Sorry, my mistake,

God has smudged you in the first place,

All over,

So that you can become a slave.

You look down in front of your masters.

You have forgotten to look up.

Perhaps you have never seen the beautiful spring sky.

Your grey hair and frail body tell me

you've lived an extraordinarily long life

So that you can tell us

your extraordinarily long and sad tale.

Angels and demons

The holy books say

there is hell where the demons reside.

You will be punished for your sins.

You will burn eternally alright.

They play with hellfire.

They burn you in hell.

You cannot possibly tell

who is rounded up

who is spared upright.

The holy books say

there is heaven where the angels reside.

If you have good deeds, you will be there.

You have a next life so bright.

Banished from heaven

A young father and his little boy,

Stroll side by side

In a late afternoon.

When you grow up, asks the father,

Son, what do you want to be?

He looks up and says,

Dad, I want to touch the sky.

I took a trip to the Moon,

But landed on the dark side.

I bribed my way into heaven,

But was banished after a head count.

Fog in my mouth and I look out the window,

But the sun blazes through the day mercilessly.

Rage in my eyes.

Shattered in the heart.

I say forgive me,

O’ father,

I have let you down.

Baptism of fire

Where do the birds die?

Do they drop from the sky into the clouds below

to become shadows forever?

Where do the fishes die?

Do they ride the silver tides to go beyond

the painted horizon never to return?

Where do men die?

They die on the streets, under