Children are basking in the fire under the lamppost.
Long ago, they say, they burnt woods for heat,
and burnt water and air
but we burnt tyres of decrepit minibuses
and burnt newspapers, and pamphlets of statesmen
children are burning the last pages of scriptures today
Filmfare and Modern Poems.
What will future children burn,
what will they, in fact, burn?
This chill has been prevalent for ages.
Children are basking in the fire under the lamppost.
Shrawan Mukarung (born 1968) Nepal
Translated by Mahesh Paudyal
Source: Dancing Soul of Mount Everest - Creator & Creation, (Selected Modern Nepali Poems), Edited by Dr. Govinda Raj Bhattarai and Rajeshwor Karki, Nepali Art & Literature Dot Com Foundation, 2011
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