River and the Moon

 

“Look, look at me. 

I reside so high

and so close 

to the heaven. 

Come, come 

and catch me,” 

said the Moon 

to the River.

 

“Gaze down 

and take a dip, 

and then you will know 

the earthly joy,” 

lambasted the River back 

to the Moon.

 

“Look, look at me,   I have stars 

as my company, 

and I play hide and seek 

with the clouds. 

Come, come and 

be with me,” 

sang the Moon 

to the River.

 

“You have 

voiceless stars 

as your company, 

and the sweat of the sky 

veils your eyes. 

Come, come and 

be with me instead, 

for I have 

plants and animals 

as my friends. 

They jump, they sing, 

they dance, and they bathe ... 

all open and naked, 

along the shores 

of the Mother Earth,” 

whispered the River 

to the Moon.

 

“Oh! River, 

I am thirsty, my darling. 

I wish to take a plunge, 

deep inside you,” 

the Moon sighed.

 

“Come, come my darling, 

let us cross all the barriers 

and enter into each other,” 

murmured the River to the Moon.  

 

 

Bhuwan Thapaliya was born in Kathmandu and is one of the most widely-read Nepali poets writing in English. He is the author of Our Nepal, Our Pride and is working on his New and Selected Poems.