Tree

Flowers climb the branches exhibit their full blossom flowers visit drawing rooms They visit temples and then they vanish. defying fixed shapes rivers hasten to no destination. carrying countless goals roads get lost in a maze. Unceasingly I stand holding the selfsame earth. Many couples came under my shade and rose to ecstatic heights of imagination, tired porters put down their baskets by my side and slept out dreams like lives of longings. children who hopped branches, left as they grew carrying mementos to remind childhood. Wild winds’ whirling clusters whispered a while perching on my leaves and raced towards horizons chasing sky, chicks hatched on my branches grew wings and flew out carrying tiny lives, travelers who arrived passed out from exhaustion but they came round under my shade and carried themselves away. Many a time slogging me through the day the sun sought to chase me away from my standing position, rain battered me into water threatening to wash me down, storm nearly blew me by force by melting me into air somewhere like itself. Rays carrying rainbows could not stay with me sounds of Naumati band and monotonous conch-shell drones rose in sky by turns and faded somewhere. Traveler living in a distance four days from here before leaving home thinks of relaxing under my shade and catching up with his journey, birds herald the spring resolved to hatch on my branches, roads part to meet here in case they got lost, dusts and shriveled leaves take a breather behind my leaves escaping chasing hurricane. soil a muddy flow hit by rain turns to its essence holding my roots. lightning dancing with winking eyes continued to tempt thunderbolts played threat games clouds acted as though they were splashing water to wake me up. Never did I feel like leaving this place and walk. --- Translated from Nepali by Prof. Abhi Subedi