Bhisma Upreti
A caravan of mules
just went past this way
stirring dust, as lovely as longings
and now,
a band of weary porters
is scaling the trail in the same way!
Both have pain
piled on their shoulders;
both have had no time for a bath;
both are hungry and tired too.
Cold has been tickling both;
no dream decors their eyes.
A foul odor fills the nostrils of both.
What a commonality!
The two share the same exhaustion.
Perhaps, you have been to the Himalayas too.
Have you ever noticed any difference
between the mules, and the porters?
Trans: Mahesh Paudyal
[Bhisma Upreti is a poet, essayist and novelist of high repute. His 19 books (9 poetry book, 9 essays/travels and one Novel) have been published. Besides Nepali, many of his works have been published in English, Hindi, Korean, Serbian, Slovenian, Japanese, Sinhala, Cambodian, Russian, Tamil and Bengali languages. He has represented Nepal in many international Literary conclaves in Aisa and Europe. A Gold medalist of National Poetry Festival organized by Nepal Academy, Mr. Upreti is also recipient of prestigious awards like SAARC Literature Award, Gopal Prasad Rimal Rastriya Kavya Puraskar, Uttam Shanti Puraskar, Yuva Varsha Moti Puraskar, Shankar Lamichhane Youth Essay Award and many more. Currently he is a secretary of PEN Nepal, A Nepalese Chapter of PEN International. ]