At the Breakfast Table
The sun had not yet risen.
The bus came to a halt
At Mohakhali Bus Terminal.
After a night-long journey,
A bird of the early dawn,
I was rushing along,
Steeped in the fragrance
Of a soft, gentle breeze.
Just before the Press Club,
The CNG dropped me off
And disappeared beyond my sight.
A fleeting exchange of glances
With flowers and birds,
Here and there,
And a little restaurant
Opened its doors beside me.
I splashed water upon my face
And settled into a seat.
Beneath the luminous earth,
My body and mind lay weary.
Someone seemed to whisper
Something into my ear.
How lovely it feels!
And then, somewhere,
Everything seemed to converge.
My bewildered mind
Wandered through the pathways
Of the entire world.
Someone danced on and on,
To the rhythm of an unseen music,
Then drifted upward
Into the boundless sky—
Where the light of the stars
Never fades.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
01 November, 2026.
Md. Mahbubul Alam is from Bangladesh. His writer name is Mahbub John in Bangladesh. He is a Senior Teacher (English) of Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh. Chapainawabganj is a district town of Bangladesh. He is an MA in English Literature from Rajshahi College under National University. He has published three books of poems in Bangla. He writes mainly poems but other branches of literature such as prose, article, essay etc. also have been published in national and local newspapers, magazines, little magazines. He has achieved three times the Best Teacher Certificate and Crest in National Education Week in the District Wise Competition in Chapainawabganj District. He has gained many literary awards from home and abroad. His English writings have been published in Synchronized Chaos for seven years.
Once when he was in grade ten in 1990, his Bangla letter was selected as the best one from Deutsche Welle, Germany Radio that broadcast Bangla news for the Banglalee people. And he was given 50 Dutch Mark as his award. They would ask letters from the listeners to the news in Bangla and select one letter for the best one in every month.
From 17 to 30 September, in 2018 he received a higher training in teaching English language in Kasetsart University of Thailand for secondary level students through a government order from education ministry.
On 06 November 2015 he achieved Amjad Ali Mondal Medal for his contribution in education field by a development organization in the conference and felicitation function for the honorable personalities at Rajshahi College Auditorium.
On 30 December 2017 from West Bengal in India he was declared a ‘Literary Charioteer’ in Bangobandhu Literary and World Bango Conference and they awarded him with a Gold Medal in their International Literary Conference and Prize Giving Ceremony.
In 2018, he achieved Prodipto Lirerary Award in Prodipto Literary Conference at Kesorhat, Rajshahi for poems in Bangla literature. He received honorary crest from the administration of Chapainawabganj District Literary Conference and Cultural Function in 2021 and 2022 consecutively.
His poems have been published in many international online magazines such as Juntos Por las L Raven Cage Zine, and Area Felix. His poems have been translated and published in Argentine and Serbian, and he participated in many international online cultural meetings.