Written piece
Where Love Once Lived
Shah Tusar
Bangladesh
About this piece
This poem portrays a suffocating moment in human civilization where fear and uncertainty dominate everyday life. Through dark imagery and the mythic reference to Prometheus, it reflects a world where hope feels devoured and voices seem powerless. The piece captures the collective
It feels like someone is pressing down
on the chest of human civilization—
choking it slowly.
That eagle—once fed
on Prometheus’ liver—
now hungers for something new,
a different flavor,
a fresh agony.
All around, a muffled wail curls through the air,
like smoke with no fire.
A veil has fallen over the eyes—
everything is blurred,
uncertain.
I scream with all my might,
but the sound is absent.
Words betray me.
Noise is silent.
People are hiding—
as if some monstrous being
roams the earth, devouring hope.
What falls from the sky
is not rain—
it is fear.
Pure, unfiltered fear.
Where once there was love,
somewhere deep in the heart,
there now lives only
terror.
We long for death—
yet pain lashes us harder,
mercilessly,
relentlessly.
And still—
the foolish heart
keeps beating.