Amma Raj Joshi
Like weary old porters on a hilly trail
clouds descended the mountains
humbled by the weight of
water they carried with them
with a pious intent of pacifying
the thirsty parched with heat
and queued up in a horizontally straight line
across the thick bush on the mountain breast
readying to shower the nectar of life.
Through my bedside window
I peeped out in the early morning light
and noticed an airy phantom of fog
conspiring with the morning breeze
moving with the pace of a cat on hunt
quietly over the bushy forest
spread, like a green blanket on a bed,
on a sloppy slant of a gentle hillock
that looked as if reclining on a comfy chair.
Rolling and revolving softly
with the chill morning breeze
like a traveler with uncertain destination
glancing sideways and peeking here and there
the fog entered my room through the window
gently caressed my cheeks with its dewy hands
like a beloved awakening her love from
night’s sleep with a gentle touch on his cheeks
and a soft shying smile reminiscent of the night’s folly.
[Prof Amma Raj Joshi, PhD, is an educator, poet, critic and researcher. A PhD in Environmental Literature, and has a special training on creative writing from the University of Iowa, USA. Among his published works are Writing Skills for All, Deuda Songs: Poetry and Performance, Reflections on Nature, Culture and Literature, A Night’s Drama (short stories), and Man and River (poems). His other books, A Big Tree, a collection of poems and The Pumpkin Prince and Other Folk Narratives, a collection of folktales from the far-western hills of Nepal, are due for publication soon.]