Daughter
With full of exuberance, she gazes at her father and smiles;
He reciprocates by doing the same, as he
arranges his pile
Of books, and as he looks closely, her eyes seem to glister brighter than the tiara she wears;
The elegance of her mother, the polished wit of her father she shares.
Those fragile legs and arms, she moves
cleverly
Whenever she craves to be carried in her
mother’s arms.
Unnoticed when she feels, she cries bitterly;
Her tears as ineffable as the constellations made up of stars.
She is the art of an artist, the great ode of a bard that would be written once in a century.
Her innocence so divine, so heavenly.
She is the imperishable knot of her
parents’ love;
Nature, too, showers her blessings upon her abundantly.
And as you’re yet to open your eyes in this very world,
Your father pens this, fancying your inevitable arrival, baby girl.
Rohit Chettri
The rickshaw-puller
My rickshaw is my make-shift home,
Where I take rest in intervals;
I can indulge in afternoon siesta, and
Enwrapped in a cozy blanket warm,
I dare to ward off winter blues as well;
My vehicle is a symbol of life
In motion which runs at a snail’s pace;
Yet in the end as often happens,
Slow but steady wins the race;
My dreams are moving along with me,
Whenever I drive my rickshaw in motion slow;
I tread on the thorny paths of life,
Taking in my stride both highs and lows;
Ensuring the travellers’ passage smooth,
I’m a helmsman of a kind rare;
Guiding the people on their cherished course,
Is what I do daily without fanfare.
Rakesh Chandra
Tale of two sisters & a dog
O Almighty, be kind enough!
I want to rest in peace.
Not for now, but forever
I long for eternal blissful sleep.
My father and mother, so dear to us
have left for heavenly abode;
My brother and spouse have turned their back
leaving us on the road!
Me and my sister, along with the pet dog
live in a place called ‘Hell’;
With darkness around whole day and night
We are in a dark, deep tunnel.
All my dear ones and neighbours too
have forsaken the path of hell;
For a long time, even now
Nobody rings the doorbell.
With nothing to eat and drink
My room is a big black hole;
Only a ray of light from Benign One
Can feed our impoverished soul.
What kind of civil society it is,
What kind of brave New World!
None cares about the fellow being
‘Treat them Alien’ is current buzzword.
Rakesh Chandra
Losing your loved ones
With the loss of your loved ones, you have lost yourself in the pain.
You have been broken
You have been stuck
You have been depressed,
Trying to overcome the pain.
So darling start living for yourself and for them again!
Start making new memories.
Start smiling again.
And with every new memory you make look up and raise a toast for the one you have lost on the way.
Now look at the pictures again but remember only the happy times gained.
Preety Gurung