The Harlot of the East

In the hour when daylight bled into rust,

I saw a young girl dragged through the dust.

Her eyes were rain, her face full of pain,

As humanity drowned in greed and shame.

Her father was helpless with fever and debt,

Coins were borrowed as time was the fate.

Then poverty sharpened its merciless blade,

A daughter’s deal that made her a slave.

I purchased not a body that night,

But only time to stand beside her fight.

A crushing debt that broke a human life,

Turned streets and walls into chains of night.

Before the sun rose and shone,

My messenger returned with coins I owned.

The debt was paid and humanity won,

Freedom was the gift that left her reborn.

Poem’s Note: This poem is based on the story of a poor family, where a teenage girl takes a loan from a powerful man in order to save her ailing father. According to the agreement, she is unable to repay the debt on time, and as a result, she is forcibly taken and pushed into prostitution as a form of repayment. A witness to her suffering intervenes upon seeing her condition and, through financial assistance, helps to free her. The poem portrays a tragic yet hopeful depiction of poverty, exploitation, human compassion, and liberation.

About Poet: Md. Naeem Aziz is a Bangladeshi Author, Writer, Poet, Engineer and Photographer. He is best known for his poems & photography. He was born on 10th December 1998. He is from Dhaka, Bangladesh. (nknaeem14@gmail.com)