Sanjeev Niraula
When the sources of income begin drying
When the pressure from everywhere begins plying
Appears,
The market price Dracula
Sucking the blood from my neck
And,
I don’t understand the economics theory:
Higher the income, higher is the expenditure.
When the ill-fated people cursing their luck
Are ready to pick up the first morsel
Of the served food at Khulamanch
Appears,
The helicopter in backdrop
Spreading petals to mark Constitution Day
And,
I don’t understand communism and communist theory
The arrival of train doesn’t stir my excitement
Nor the retirement of Kulman saddens me
I don’t care, why should I?
When trapped in the cage of stomach
The road to brain is blocked
And,
I don’t understand human consciousness
Wall and stones don’t make a prison
But circumstances do
Now, I know
Why a caged bird sings
And for what it sings.
[Sanjeev Niraula is a PGT teacher at Bijeshwori Gyan Mandir Sainik Mahavidyalaya, Swoyambhu Kathmandu.]