Wake–up Call
The world sits and ignores.
While some don’t only protest, but sail
With food and supplies for the needy and frail.
Intercepted in international waters,
Kidnapped and taken hostage;
To a destination unknown, for their protest.
What’s their crime?
They sailed for humanity,
To feed the hungry.
To save children and humans,
Affected in Gaza, with acts inhuman.
O World! Where is your dignity?
Where is your pride?
Where is your conscience?
Come, shout out aloud.
Give a cry, a cry not for war but peace.
A cry for their release.
To rescue humanity, be allowed
on the face of earth.
March towards their allies,
March towards the palaces,
Where leaders make merry and snore in peace.
Awaken them, awaken their conscience to release.
Ask them to raise their voices,
Ask them to back down;
Ask them to ceasefire;
Ask them to call for peace.
The world cannot see more bloodshed,
Inhuman acts and barbarity and leave them to bleed.
If not now, then when?
A golden civilization you call this?
Wake up to the calls of millions;
Wake up to the cries of children;
Wake up to the mourning of parents;
Wake up to the cries of grieving wives;
Wake up to the stillness of the silence of the husbands.
Wake up while still you can.
For world peace cannot be attained with inhuman acts,
Today it’s them who are affected;
Tomorrow you will be threatened;
Wake up, while still you can.
Copyright@Tasneem Hossain
Brief Bio of Tasneem Hossain:
Tasneem Hossain, majoring in English Language and Literature, is a multi-lingual poet from Bangladesh. She writes poems in English, Urdu and Bengali. She is also a columnist, fiction and op-ed writer, educator, translator and trainer.
Winner of The International Literary Association Creative Tribune, Walt Whitman 2025 Contest, her poems have been translated in 11 languages; and published in literary journals worldwide. She has been interviewed on several literary platforms and won awards for her literary contributions to world literature.
Several of her articles and poems are utilised as teaching material in universities and academies across various countries; some have been referenced in university research papers.
She is an author of three poetry books: ‘Grass in Green’ – available in 30 countries, ’The Pearl Necklace,’ ‘Floating Feathers’ and a book of articles ‘Split and Splice’. Four more books are currently in progress.
As an op-ed writer, she has written more than 150 articles.
She runs an international poetry writing project and group, named Life in Lyrics. She wants to create bridges of communication for literary people around the world through this platform. She conducts workshops here to create readers and create interest for reading and writing for the younger generation. She is a member of World Writers’ Union and recognized as World’s Contemporary Writers 2024 in a couple of anthologies.
She has been appointed as ambassador, Bangladesh, for the popular magazine ‘Wordsmith International Editorial,’ USA and advisor of the literary magazine ‘Pen Craft -Kalomer Karukaj,’ Bangladesh.
