Bina Theeng Tamang

Translated from Nepali by Hem Bishwakarma

 

Ere yesterday,

I could not see my father

He turned up–

While I had been to collect the sun

.

For the second chance,

He turned up at daytime, yesterday

Oh! I’m sorry, I could not see him

For I went out

To seek a morsel of food

.

Perhaps,

He will turn up this evening

Yet, I am walking out to reap the time

I know, I would not see him yet again

.

My father had to take me

To a hospital

Lifting a spiky sun on his head

Along the bank of Rapti River

.

I am here–

Showcased as a city-marionette

Grasped by a lollypop so tight

.

He used to look into the sky

With a deep sigh!

I used to look at the city

.

He used to ask briskly

Groping money–

Earned selling the Kulfi

“Which did you like, dear?”

.

He used to laugh

With the face shattered by helplessness;

And the chest stroked by fate

THen he would say,

“You are my heart

How would I live heart-broken?”

.

After four to five years of his avowl

He let his ‘heart’

To a strange person

.

He is unwell nowadays

However,

He comes to see a piece of his ‘heart’

.

How’d he know?

For seeking a mouthful of bread

Sometimes for collecting the sun

And frequently to reap the time

The Heart rushes ever

In the marathon of life

.

We may not see each other

In the next visit, too!

 

Tamang is a writer from Kathmandu. She is the author of two books, Chhuki, a story collection and Rato Ghar, a poem collection. She is an awardee of different Nepali awards in literature.

First published in Borderless Journal.