FIRE ENGINE
Having fled the madhouse, the lunatic darted up the tree.
Nothing would make him come down, he said,
Except for the pleas of that midget-sized nurse!
The nurse came running, quick as a fire engine,
Waving wildly at him. Her gestures were coded messages
Inducing the lunatic to climb down from the tree top
Just as the operculum of koi fish will descend on the dining plate
Entranced by the smell of steaming curry,
He descended easily and freely
As consecutive numbers do when one counts down.
The lunatic’s thoughts flickered across the nurse’s consciousness.
This day that mad man will return once more to his asylum.
Placing his head on the confessional,
He will soundlessly suffer thirteen electric shocks
Designed to induce thirteen confessions from him
At the directive of the calm and composed head priest!
(translated from the original Bengali by Fakrul Alam)