Sitaram Bhatta
Early in the morning,
a neighbor of mine
with long black hair
drenched from recent bath
is plucking flowers
from another neighbor’s garden
stretching her hand over the wall.
This is the time
she always begins to pray;
yes, ‘prey’ on the innocent flowers.
The flowers
with tears of dew-drops
stay crammed, silently, inside her basket;
or, call it a ‘casket’!
I live in a place
where people worship
with stolen flowers.
For me,
their worship is merely a ‘warship’
against the guiltless lives ruined at the altar.
For generations
‘lowers’ have been like flowers,
that are plucked and offered
to appease some hearts
and to please the gods.
Yes, gods of all kind─
corporate or incorporeal!
[Sitaram Bhatta is a lecturer at Kailali Multiple Campus under Tribhuvan University.]