Guest Contributor: Poetry by Jahin Tanvir
Jahin Tanvir is a 20-year-old policy adviser, keynote speaker, author, poet and multicultural youth advocate. We are honoured to feature the following poems as a powerful contribution that interweaves creativity, storytelling and human resilience.
The cycle of sacrifice depicts the journey of refugees and how their human rights were challenged. The story loosely follows Jahin’s grandmother's tale in the late 1900s.
Front line conveys the story of front line workers and is an ode to how they are living on the edge to keep people alive, and the struggles that come with that.
The cycle of sacrifice
Trickling seconds down a hollow well,
pelting down with dampened dirt,
Chapters of untold travesties,
unfurled beneath her nose.
With ageing eyes,
fingers scarred from slashes,
She turned the inked pages,
to the harsh reminiscences,
a verbal rendition of an invasion,
based on superior intentions.
Victory in war is a delusional glory,
misconstrued by those in control,
felt in acres by the ones being controlled,
A diaspora of livelihoods,
lost beneath the cracks of the canvas.
Once the dust settles,
and the aftermath is observed,
The world comes to realise,
that the absence of peace,
renders a chaotic convolution,
devastating defenceless souls.
Her petite hands,
bruised from pulls and shoves,
A morsel of fear trapped in her oesophagus,
An unspoken terror,
stuttering silent screams,
in a language that will never be the same.
But she knew she had to persevere,
for the grace that straddled her chest,
was the hope that would heal the hole in her chest,
gaping full of sacrifices and sorrows.
Born of paper cuts and broken shards,
An identity that still needs to be discovered,
He will walk the world,
courageous and strong,
for he is the son of a warrior,
that gave it all to fight the wrong.
Front line
Another number in the history books,
weaving countless lives towards comfort,
unrest in the chest,
body crippled by urgency.
The pierce of a thousand coughs,
clanging throughout their body,
long after the sun opens its eyes,
and the rheum triturates into nothing.
Another day is a blessing,
to pen a sonnet of salvage,
as shards of hope swirl around,
prying open their hearts,
under the crevices of their rusted vizard.
Drowning in the ocean of bodies,
unable to see the light,
Fear shaving away the years,
howling throughout the trembling night.
Suffocating and jittery,
to the sight of another cloth,
draping a family’s promise away,
unable to see the noon clouds.
Jarring pain with each footfall,
vying for a time,
when they can feel beneath their feet,
restful and relieved.
These are our city’s unsung heroes,
firm on the front line,
risking it all for common good,
an outlier for humanity’s valour,
sacrifices that we will always honour.
Jahin Tanvir is a 20-year-old policy adviser, keynote speaker, author, poet and multicultural youth advocate. With a penchant for being multifaceted, Jahin possesses a strong background in youth advocacy and healthcare in leading youth-led organisations. He was born in Bangladesh, raised in Sydney, and lives in Canberra.
In 2021, Jahin received the 2021 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year in Individual Community Service as well as recognition in the 7NEWs Young Achiever awards for NSW/ ACT in the category of community service. Jahin also received the Zest Awards Outstanding Youth Leader of the year for 2021 for his work in assisting multicultural communities in Western Sydney.
