Sunita Khanal
From the day
You left/departed
I became like a half-hill
Eroded by river
Observing alone
The field awaiting for sweat
Flute waiting for tune
Lane waiting for footsteps
And age awaiting for an invitation
When I recall
The scenes of past pass
To and fro
From my eyes_
The flower of teak
The rotating swing
The crossed river
And the memories you left
The day
You left
From the orchard of my heart
I became a half-whorl flower
Thrashed by wind
Ages before
I’d studied ‘love’
In the book of your face
And said—
“When you rise as sun
My sorrows are set”
I can’t say
“Where have those days gone?”
Every morning
A piece of music
I have been tuning
In your voice
With the empty plate
Returning from the temple,
Forlorn main road
Of the mid-day
Waiting for the visitors
From the day
You left
I became a half-man
Snatched/beaten by ‘time’
That was a letter
My mother has sent
Dipped in tear-ink.
Translated from Nepali by Raj Kumar Baral
[Sunita Khanal (b 1990) is a Nepali poet of the latest generation. Though she is yet to publish an anthology, she has been widely published by periodicals and magazines. A master’s degree holder in literature, she has left a lasting impression on the minds of the Nepali readership through her forceful recital of poems woven in unique symbolism to talk about the common people. She is associated with Nayapatrika Daily. ]