Ayodhyanath Choudhary
Please do not come so close, Mother!
I do not dare to touch those little feet
And put my forehead thereon
The atmosphere is polluted with the pandemic
Which may spread onwards
Mother! I do not know
What misfortune befalls here next
We all are inside the house, in panic.
Perhaps Corona is not there, on your part
Standing so at the threshold,
Please do not eye at the stove
However, we also possess the same amount of love
We have suffered separation for complete three years
Since you left, how lonely we are!
Today, nobody dared to come
On your anniversary day
Your daughter-in-law cooked your favorites all alone
She served them in ‘ Sal pots ‘ and offered for you
Lighted lamps and decorated with flowers all around.
Mother! Please eat them keeping distance
Or take them away with you
And please go where you came from
Let the heaven remain unpolluted from the epidemic.
The ‘ guru ‘ – the priest was not able to come
Brothers— both elder and younger, their wife
Even Devanshu– the little one, Luna, Bina
Sewa, Richa, son- in -law, — none came.
We are lonely in our house
Without you, Mother
I am desperately alone.
At this moment, I am remembering you
Please do not come so close as to move my heart
( Please do not move my heart coming so close)
Please don’t touch for now
We will meet someday later on
Mother! We must meet sometime in future
When living on this corona-flooded earth is complete
We will also come to the same place
Corona may contract this time
Please go back your way.
Translated from Nepali poem by Dr. Govind Raj Bhattarai
[Ayodhyanath Choudhary, an M. A. In English, has been writing in English and getting published since 1968 . His short story ” Sympathy ” first of all, was published in the illustrated college magazine “Videh” of C.M. College, Darbhanga of the then Bihar University. Though interested in different genres of literature, his passion for writing poetry is great, and he looks forward to getting an anthology of poetry published shortly.]