Poetry

Poetry often makes us stop and think more than prose does. Here’s one poem from Sylhet, written nearly 200 years ago, by Sufi Sitalong.

Looking at his own life, before Almighty God, he weeps and has no assured hope on judgement day. This is what he writes in Sylheti Nagri:

Below is the translation into English. It asks of us: will we suffer the same fate as Sufi Sitalong? And, if he, a holy man, had no hope, how can we?

Isa al Masih invites us to trust him to take us across the narrow bridge of judgement, will we trust him?

 

We hosted our friends in the Mitali Arts Group for a poetry and song evening on the theme of “Love”. Here’s the group, plus a video excerpt from one of their songs:

And, here’s a few words on love from the Injil Shorif (in 1 Corinthians 13), in English and Sylheti:

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres…¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.