Siddhicharan Shrestha
A Nepalese I am,
Clever in climbing
Arduous mountain heights.
Though hostile to me
They may be,
I am kind to the poor.
Prepared I am
To suck the core
The fresh blood of the foe.
This, you see,
My khukuri so dear –
Look with utmost care.
Trained I am
To protect the world
Ever and at all times.
Taught I am
To work for others
Until my final breath.
I do not care
If flames there are
Blown by Death himself;
Aim I’ll take
Right at the head
If any tyrant comes.
Let the clouds
Rumble and roar
As if the deluge is near,
And black and blue
Come over the sky,
Creating horrible forms.
I do not care
If hurdles are there,
Put by foes along the way:
Exempt from death
My soul is, you know –
A sun that will never set.
I do not fear
The crackle of shot
That severs every limb.
I do not care
If my skin is flayed,
Leaving a pile of flesh.
I do not care
If a path of sands
Is burning underneath;
Aim I’ll take
Right at the head
If any traitor comes.
I do not care
That the river is black,
Full of pus and filth,
Flowing along
Hither and yon,
Forming a ring around.
I’ll swim with ease,
Feeling happy and free,
And assault the hostile land.
A Nepalese I am,
Clever in breaking
The whirlpool that impels.
Pleasure it gives
To tackle a ditch
Stagnant with wholesome pain.
It is no great matter
That Death comes near;
Joyful songs I’ll sing
And forward I’ll go.
What’s there
In death to fear?
All must die;
It is the law
That Nature made
To force the body’s sundering.
Trans: Madhav Lal Karmacharya