Sunderbans Poem by Osman Gani

The mysterious Mangrove breathes in dark shadows.
The deer roam and graze verdant emerald leafy feast,
Something fierce lurks there veiled in thick meadows.
Monkeys rant beholding a dark-streaked yellow beast.

Even a sunny morning seems to be dark, dark twilight.
The murky rutted soil keeps the treading feet tottered,
Still they gaze not bellow but peek around upper sight
As they feel something moving near them, unsighted.

So many muddy ways lay here untrodden and brazen.
Here and there several one-wayward footsteps of deer
Are imprinted in the hardened slush as if it had frozen.
In the hushed wind resound the numb trumpets of fear.

Evening comes with some hissing, howling, growling.
Pythons make move, tigers tread and cruel eyes glare.
Whole of Mangrove waits with a tremulous quivering
As Nature’s red tooth haunts with the whispering air.