By Manju Kanchuli
After preparing a feast
satisfying the entire family
like a highly skilled housewife
satisfying herself
she licks the empty cauldron and pan
or swallows the slightly burnt leavings
And then hungry and weepy-eyed this rainy night
falls asleep. Not without fulfilling you in your bed room
She’s been spending her days licking the salty grit
on the empty pan provided by legislation
No justice has come to ask—“Have you eaten?”
It’s not just this century-long night
she has slept without food
There were many nights like that
Today too there’s a feast at her house
Tell them: In her name
don’t put out the rice the meal requires
She doesn’t need feasts like these
For amid great feasts, she already has
the habit of fasting herself to sleep
Fire rages on the riverbank. With a flood of water
she has blanketed that terrible inferno of hunger
She has doused the blaze sufficiently
with the unfathomable depths
of a single desperation
Translated from the Nepalese by Wayne Amtzis and Manju Kanchuli
[Manju Kanchuli (1950) is an influence woman signature of Nepali literature. Born in Kathmandu, she started writing at the age of eight. Her books published so far include poetry collections Kiranka Chhalharu (Waves of Rays), Mero Jeevan Mero Jagat (My Life, My World) Two Sisters, Aatmapratiti (Self-Reflections) and Palakbhitra Palakbahira (Inside and Outside the Eyelashes), story collections Kehi Maya Kehi Paridhi (A Little Love and a Few Limitations), Manju Kanchulika Katha (Stories of Manju Kanchuli), Vishwamitrako Suhagraat (Vishwamitra’s Honeymoon) a co-authored novel Aakash Bibhajit Chha (The Sky is Divided) etc. She lives in Kathmandu with her family.]