Dough making
with flour and water
Salt and butter
Calls for kneading
In ritualistic candor
As parts come together
To an irreversible matter

The soft cushion of dough
between the palm and the bowl
pliable with every push and shove
stretched and compressed
In sheepish conformity


Blistered on  skillet
Puffed up to a chapati
Heavens thanked with each bite
For flat bread with savory curry
Fills nostrils with soft aromas-
Relished as heaven on tongue-
One is contented of this flat bread

Cuando percibo tu aroma cierro mis ojos y sonrío

Te quiero tener junto a mí para no sentir este vacío

El mero hecho de estar sin ti me provoca escalofrío

Nunca te dejes de perfumar y siempre serás mío

you’re my cup of coffee at 6:45 AM
smell dancing like incense in the middle of pooja
warm as the sun peaking out shyly behind the horizon
richly sweet caramelized sugar pearly cream
and bitter like the small things i dont know about you yet.

but when you touch my lips
the bitterness i can swallow with the sweet
and the sweet i savor with every taste bud on my tongue.

before i head out the door at 7 AM
i kiss your forehead and wash out the emptied mug
but the taste of cappucino lingers at the corners of my mouth
as i wave good day to you.

and when i return at 5:30 PM
limbs pathetically sown on with prayers
empty rivers landfills of worry time ticking like a heartbeat
the aroma wafts around me again like a scarf.

in your embrace
i fall asleep with dreams of whipped clouds and
love at the cafe.

Warm laundry gives me the
fuzzies, makes my hands grasp
   majestic purple soaps
to cleanse away the ***** wails
compacted under fingernails
A selection of smell good things
lotions accompanied by fuzzy things
to rub away and radiate the aura
of calm, balance, and tranquility
Lavender is condusive to many
different uses, inhaling the graces
of herbal essence, soothing said coolings
inducing mood peelings of layers of grime
a skin liberative—figuratively speaking
Flowers of passion brew thoughts into actions
silent buds permeating scents
   so invigoratingly innocent

///
Empty room
Open window
Smell of your hair
Reshuffle of all the feelings
What a familiar song!
Blowing through the window
I hear but not to turn asleep
Flavor of night jasmine
I open the door
She is coming,
What an unprecedented beauty of that face!
Gradually open
The bare body
How beautiful!
I am seduced by the sight of
You and I stand one on the island
But then I was sleeping
In a dream not to go too close

@Musfiq us shaleheen
///
ঘরটা ফাকা
জানালা খোলা  
তোমার চুলের গন্ধ পাই
এলোমেলো সব অনুভূতি
কি যেন এক চেনা গান
ভেসে আসছে
শুনে শুনে ঘুম আসেনা
হাস্নাহেনার গন্ধ
দরজাটা খুলে দেই
সে আসে  
কি অপূর্ব সুন্দর্য ওই মুখে!
আস্তে আস্তে খুলে যায় সব
অনাবৃত শরীর
কি সুন্দর!
আমি বিমোহিত এক দৃষ্টিতে
তুমি আর আমি এক দ্বীপে
কিন্ত তখন আমি ঘুমিয়েছিলাম
স্বপ্নের  মধ্যে কাছে যেতে পারিনি  

মুসফিক উস সালেহীন

///

Goodnight anthropocentrism—
Mitochondria swim in your stardust
But Contraverse awakens on the
Frontiers of the Valerian Kingdom

At the gnarled staff of the Oil Sage
Taking root between the Earth’s furrows
Springing forth fountains of sweetest Nard
The Jewel of Jatamansi emerges glistening green

In it the eye of the beholder finds the
Seeds of a once forbidden dream
Germinating in the juices of this Gem

Out of it the silent roar of a thousand fields pressing
Aromatic oceans through bursting buds
Of Lavender pagodas rapturously trumpeting forth
Framed by stacks of soft sweet musky Sage
Broad and leathery like elephant’s ears
Curtained with a soft cascade of Orange blossom snow
The sweet kiss of Neroli on your brow

Imbibing the senses with paralyzing pungency
Tangling tendrils to heartstrings
And pulling us beneath Rosewater pools
Floating breathlessly ensconced in a dream
Primordial songs whispering wordlessly,
“Wake whenever you’re ready . . .”