The Bridge and the Bend: A selection of poems

is a selection of poems by Mahmood Mustafa, which explore the poet's past, present, and anticipated, life events, spanning the vast memory-scape and cultural heritage of his homeland India and his long sojourn in his adopted country, Canada. As well as that of countries the poet has visited. Many of these poems have a deeply spiritual bent and are with reverence dedicated to ‘The Beloved,’ and look for subliminal messages in human interaction with nature’s bounty, in human relationships, and everyday experiences. As one of Mahmood’s reviewers said, ‘he draws inspiration from his holy book, from a line or phrase from the old masters Tennyson, Shelley, Shakespeare and the Sufi, mystic, philosopher and poet Rumi, their words taking him down unexplored paths.’ Mahmood continues to muse on subjects of cultural, historical and social nature, emphasizing their importance and value, drawing lessons both for himself and his readers. He does not forget to remember, with some joy and some sadness, old ties, old friends and old haunts, reflecting on meetings and partings that mattered.