Poetry:
Dhiraj Rai
Promise
Promises were made, countless
- in the name of mother
- in the names of ancestors
- in the names of gods and goddesses
- against the risk of ken, and
- in the bond of promise itself too.
How easily, one promise would make
an unbelief a truth!
at those times,
there was no judge as faithful as the vows.
I saw my uncle swearing in the name of his daughter
by putting Tika on her forehead
to quit his alcohol habit
and breaking his promise the next day ;
I saw my sister telling lies
by pulling our mother's hand
to her head;
and, I witnessed
my brother getting rid of every guilt
after touching the holy stone of Autari-Than, as well.
Promises continued to join up, and
got broken one after another
proving itself false.
It is crystal clear, that
no promise troubled anyone at any moment, anywhere.
Ah! those fears!
Nothing was, but
as false as promises.
And, at this point in time,
I understood that a promise could not
be broken on one's will either;
and realized, how a tiny promise
can bother one's life; after
promised to forget you.
Translated from Nepali by Suman Pokhrel
