The Forever Playing Stage

Sushant Thapa 

I burn the tears and 
The tissue papers, 
I am on my first issue of Forever Magazine.
I have my used-to smile 
That I wear like the passing time.
My face hasn’t changed 
With the modern vibrating beats. 
I am as old as the first breath 
Of the Himalayan snow
Which is old 
Like the living humanity. 
The rhododendrons even 
Decorate the lyrics of a song 
That I sing. 
The mocking hills 
That echo emptiness, 
The earthquake-shaken foundations 
Pain me in the eye. 
My generation 
Will go away 
Flying like a kite.  
I am bound to stay 
Have my cup of tea 
And kiss the flowering words. 
The lap of the blissful Himalayas 
Is my sprouting soul 
Like the fountain moonlight 
Showering from 
The head of Lord Shiva. 
I leave the world behind 
Yet it lives on 
And the powerful play 
Keeps being staged.

[Sushant Thapa is a Nepalese poet from Biratnagar, Nepal who holds a Master’s degree in English literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He has published three books of poetry namely: The Poetic Burden and Other Poems (Authorspress, New Delhi, 2020), Abstraction and Other Poems (Impspired, UK, 2021) and Minutes of Merit (Haoajan, Kolkata, 2021). Sushant has been published in places like The Gorkha Times, The Kathmandu Post, The Poet Magazine, The Piker Press, Trouvaille Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Impspired, Harbinger Asylum, New York Parrot, Pratik Magazine, The Beatnik Cowboy, The Dope Fiend Daily, Atunis Poetry, EKL Review, The Kolkata Arts, Dissident Voice, Journal of Expressive Writing, As It Ought To Be Magazine and International Times among many. He has also been anthologized in national and International anthologies. His poem is also included in the Paragon English book for Grade 6 students in Nepal. He teaches Business English to Bachelor’s level students of BBA and BIT at Nepal Business College, Biratnagar, Nepal. Recently Sushant recited his poem “The Poetic Burden” in Kalinga Literary Festival, Kathmandu, Nepal. Sushant was recently awarded with Indology Best Poet Award 2022 from West Bengal, India for his debut poetry book “The Poetic Burden and Other Poems.”]