The Daily News from Bangladesh announced early this morning that the nation”s foremost poet, Shamsur Rahman, died at 6:45 PM Thursday night. Rahman has been an influential and well-known political poet for decades in the small country.

“I”ll soon be gone, quite alone/And quietly, taking none of you along/On this aimless journey. Useless/To insist, I must leave you all behind. No, I”ll take nothing at all/On this solitary journey…”, wrote Shamsur Rahman in his poem “Before the Journey”.(The Daily Star)

That was the start of the article reporting his death in the Daily Star, the piece taken from his poem Before the Journey. Shamsur Rahman was a prolific writer, authoring more than 100 books, sixty of them collections of poetry. His poetry spoke of the love of the Bangalee people for their land and of patriotism. He began writing in the 1940s, building on the ground prepared by the poets of the 1930s, lifting and renewing the art of poetry in the state of Bangladesh. He eschewed the formality of traditional poetry, instead creating works in the colloquial language of his beloved city of Dahaka. Rahman won numerous awards including the Bangla Academy Award in 1969, Ekushey Padak in 1977 and the Swadhinata Award in 1991.

His passing is a great loss for the country, and occasioned expressions of grief and condolence from political and literary figures of all stripes. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina in separate messages expressed deep shock at the death of Shamsur Rahman.

Awami League (AL) leaders Nuha-ul-Alam Lenin, Abdul Mannan Khan, Yafes Osman, Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin and Asim Kumar Ukil placed floral wreaths at the dead body of poet Rahman last night on behalf of Leader of the Opposition and AL President Sheikh Hasina, said a press release.

AL leaders Tofail Ahmed, Amir Hossain Amu and Asaduzzaman Noor went to the poet”s Shyamoli residence to see the poet for the last time. Rahman”s poetry was a rallying cry for many in the Bangalee struggle for independence, his voice speaking clearly above the rumble to offer a voice to the people. His influence will be greatly missed, but his poems will live on to inspire future generations of poets and fellow countrymen.