Once Again

Harisharan Pariyar

I always wish
I could scribble all my serious burdens
On a paper plane
Like the one I made as a child,
And set them flying
To soar, like cotton,
And reach places far and wide
Wish I could load
My biggest worries
On the paper boat
And set it sailing in the brook near my home
Letting it slide, with the flow of water,
Never to come back again
Wish I would retain forever
The beautiful sand-castle I erected
During my playful pastimes on the shore;
Let it flash, forever and ever
As a perennial source of encouragement
Like moments when I played hide-and-sick
With guiltless dolls clasped with love
Against my bosoms
And narrated to them all grievances of my life
Wish I would dauntlessly enquire
About my own existence
Which could transform into a path
Whereon, I could trace a new journey
And there, I wish
I could forget the chill of the entire night
And smile
Like the golden mountain peaks that gracefully smile
Early in the morning
Wish I could take a free flight
Like birds that know no impediment!
Wish I could climb the arduous hill of life
And descend the cumbersome comedown of life!
Wish, I could once again
Become a child: guiltless, innocent and meek
And trick this time
That grows heavier each moment
And lumbers up the hill.
Trans: Mahesh Paudyal

[Pariyar is a poet of Nepali origin based in the United States of America. He is secretary of Padam Bishwokarma Foundation.]