Elusive Night
Knowledge was born from night’s womb,
And from the same womb was light born
This elusive night
Stretching into a protracted darkness
What, still,
Will it bring to life?
Possession
Night—
My inheritance, my birthright
Should I cover myself in it or lie on it?
Should I turn it into a mirror or a meadow?
Should I safeguard it in my heart or scatter it?
Should I lose myself in its embrace
Or play with it till I’m sated?
Night is my liberated land!
I have no fear that anyone will claim it
Lacking a deed
It can never belong to another
Night is the realm of my freedom
My one true possession is night
Night’s Footprints
To hear its footprints
Sink into night
Don’t make a sound
Lest it startle!
Divided Night
Broken into segments
Night is a lifetime
Even a single night
Reveals itself in distinct divisions
Sometimes in deep sleep
Sometimes in a dream
Sometimes
In an insomniac vision
Here, night shimmers like a Golden Age
And there, like an Age of Destruction
Night’s Protest
Night rolls like a wave
Leaves the shore and moves further and further
I draw it back to keep it within reach
But it surges away, breaking through the shore
Protesting!
Could morning be its purpose?
© Sulochana Manandhar. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2014 by Muna Gurung. All rights reserved.
