This page displays all the poems I wrote throughout the semester.

I Remember Poem:

I remember the blue ice cream shop I used to go to everyday when I was little.

I remember how cloudy the sky looked the day I left Bangladesh to come to America.

I remember the day I met my current best friend while walking down the stairs.

I remember eating spicy chicken ramen everyday last summer.

I remember the big window in my English class where the sun came peeping every morning.

I remember how embarrassed I was when I said “you too” in reply to a boba-barista who told me to enjoy my tea.

I remember I couldn’t stop laughing for no reason during my presentation for a robotic competition.

I remember when my mom released my playful pet pigeon last spring.

I remember not being able to remember the name of a girl that had really long hair who I had 3 classes with for a year.

I remember when I sneaked out of the house to get  my ears pierced by my aunt since my mom wouldn’t allow me to get it done until I was older.

I remember not liking regular cheese pizza when I first tried it.

 

Five Senses Poem

Comilla, Bangladesh 

By Nafisa Hamim

I remember the feeling of playing in the rain barefooted

I remember being welcomed by familiar scent of rose and gardenia from mom’s garden every time I came home

I remember sneaking out to the roof every afternoon to watch the beautiful pinkish orange sunset with my friends 

I remember standing around small food carts and enjoying spicy,tangy, crunchy fuchkas 

I remember when winter was my favorite season 

waking up to foggy mornings

and participating in Pitha-puli  (it’s a bangali winter tradition where specific type of desserts are made with rice flour from the winter harvest)

and playing badminton with family every evening

and drinking sweet Khejur rosh (date-juice extracted from date palm trees)

and going to picnics

 and gathering around fire to warm up

and hear bird chirping.

Now winter is all peaceful and boring, 

 no more enjoying delicious pithas, no more fun gatherings and picnics, and only being able to play badminton in summer.

 

Tagore-Based Poem:

We both live in the same neighborhood and that is something that bonds us.

The smell of roses from her garden makes me smile every time I pass by.

Her pair of legs come to my balcony every sunset.

As she gazes at the beautiful sunset, I take in the breathtaking sight of her.

We live in Bristipor and Gumti is the name of our river.

We met at the first sight of bristi(rain) and her name is mishti.  

 

Birds that sit on her mango trees occasionally come to sit on our mango trees. 

Fresh fruits that come from her garden get sold in our market.

There is a park nearby which we go to play in after school with our other friends.

When we are heading home we always remember to grab ice creams from the blue ice cream shop.

We live in Bristipor and Gumti is the name of our river.

We met at the first sight of bristi(rain) and her name is mishti.  

 

The stars that shine on her rooftop can be seen from mine. 

Even though her name is mishti she doesn’t like eating mishti(Bengali sweets).The smell of rain reminds of her and that rainy day we met for the first time.

We live in Bristipor and Gumti is the name of our river.

We met at the first sight of bristi(rain) and her name is mishti. 

Object Poem:

The Blue Paint Brush

By : Nafisa Hamim

 

So much depends 

upon

 an blue paint 

brush 

 beautifully stained with

paint

 trapped with other 

brushes.

Song of Summer:

It was the last day of school in the year 2014, I remember how bright the sun beamed on my face right after I got out of the school building. Soon as I stepped out I was pulled by my friends to go to the park. The middle school I went to was pretty small, it only consisted of around 300 students in total. That day due to not wanting to part way from friends so soon, almost everyone headed to the nearest park to hang out. Soon as we got to the park I remember running alongside friends to get a spot on the swings. As we were happily playing around the playground and enjoying each other’s company an impromptu water fight broke out between us. People were being thrown in the sprinklers and there were people that filled up their water bottles to throw at each other. The following year people showed up prepared with water balloons and water guns. Having a summer water fight after school then became a tradition for us. After that during the summer months we would come to school prepared and try to sneak attack one another.

 

Summer during middle school days were my favorite. During the summer I used to go to the park with my family quite often and set up little Picnics. After getting exhausted from playing around in the park, I would lay down on the thin blanket that was placed on the cold grass and soon after I would snooze off due the soothingness the cold grass provided. Even Though I loved the small picnics that were held between my family, the annual summer picnic the Bengali community in my neighborhood takes part in is my favorite. Those annual summer picnics hold a lot of precious memories for me, especially last year’s picnic which I went along with my best friend. As I grew older, I along with the people around me became busy and summer kind of became boring, except for going to the annual picnic and going out with friends a few times, my last few summers weren’t that interesting as the summers during my middle school days. 

 

The summer of 2020 made my past few “boring” summers look exciting. I had so much hope for this summer but I was let down really badly. My plans for going back to my home country after 8 years was disrupted along with other plans I had. For the whole two months of summer my daily activities stayed about the same. Every day I looked out of the window and hoped to get out soon. The first month of summer my mom barely allowed me and siblings to get out of the house. Only time I got to go out was to do weekly groceries with her. Almost everyday I would be on a call with my friends where we would watch movies and play games together to pass time. Towards the end of summer I remember being filled with joy when my mom finally allowed me to meet up with my best friend who I didn’t see for about 5 months. That was the only good thing that happened to me in the summer of 2020. As I recall the events I hope to never experience a summer like summer of 2020.

Manifesto:

What I will

By Nafisa Hamim

 

I will not be silent 

I will will not be a bystander

I will not let my rights get taken away 

I will not watch my loved ones suffer

I especially will not let myself suffer 

I will not let people look down on me 

I will not let people’s hateful words have an impact on me.

I want to live in a world where I don’t have to constantly be in fear.

I am tired of having to take blame for destruction I didn’t cause or support.

I will resist against people’s hateful look

I will fight for my people

I will shout and stand up for myself through my painful voice.

I will not live in fear

I will love myself till I can’t no more.

Kid in the Park-based Poem:

Brother is a furious and dreadful

storm that disturbs the calm sea

 

Why are you so annoying?

Why do you always make the atmosphere dark?

Why are you so hard to communicate with?

 

That’s what little brothers do

spoiled and never get questioned for anything they do. 

Apologia:

This Is Just To say

by Nafisa Hamim

 

I have stolen 

the hoodie you 

let me wear for a day

 

and I knew it was 

your favorite hoodie 

 

Forgive me

it was so comfortable 

and so warm.

Habit of Happiness:

Something I do currently to give myself feelings of well being is paint. I always enjoyed drawing and painting but when I was an art major in high school, I didn’t enjoy it much because I felt restricted. Art teachers were constantly getting in the way of my creative freedom so I never really enjoyed completing the assigned projects, I would just complete it to get a grade for the class. When quarantine started I started painting and drawing for my own sake. Now every week whenever I have free time I spend a few hours drawing or painting random things. This is an activity that helps me de-stress and makes me happy. This Saturday when it was raining I sat by my window and painted what I saw through the window. Watching the rain droplets slide down my window and painting it helped me feel relaxed and improved my mood from the busy and tiring week I had.