An Entreaty

- Hem Bishwakarma

(This poem is translated from the Nepali by Poet himself.)

My feet are chasing me persistently

Laying my life down under

From then to now!

Please,

While I'm passing by this life

Since I am as small as a thread

Do not walk by my side

For I might be broken

I might be in a deep contemplation

I might be sketching my country map

Or, writing a poem

Dedicated to you

Try not to stick to me

So that the air will not pass

Try not to walk by my ears

Though you are on a vehicle

Try not to splash a smile at my eyes

The air that lets me a hold to stand

Might fall down!

I can give you a whole universe to walk on

Except the soil that my feet stride

Or, walk on the trees

Or, walk on the chests of rivers

You have a tall mountain to trail on

Or, it'll be alright,

If you walk just before or after me.

Giving up this vast geography,

Please do not stick to my skin and walk

I would have burnt to ashes

The road would have been habituated to me

I would walk without a movement

I would watch the flowers--

Please try not to encompass and walk

Being as narrow as yourself!

I would be walking with a storm in my eyes

Please do not walk breaking the silence in the air

________

Hem Bishwakarma is a poet and translator from Nepal. His poems are published in different national and international poetry journals.

Originally published in Borderless Journal