Monsoon osmosis

Soft melody of Fazr Azaan
A pre-dawn chiaroscuro 
of flashing silver sky
and dusky trees
Wafting branches wild
in the sudden Kalboishaki storm
shedding fistfulls of foliage
I inhale the luxurious scent 
of squelched earth
smoking under the sodden leaves 
Entranced by shafts of electric
blue lightning bolts 
I am drenched in the rushing rain 
I feel the sentient plops of raindrops seeping into the texture 
of my soft brown skin
Slowly awakening the spirit within to respond with gratitude
to the muezzin's call to prayer 

Rebecca Haque is Professor, Department of English, University of Dhaka.