An Address - Gopal Prasad Rimal

O lass, o damozel,

we have met as the sun meets the rain,

perhaps you remember –

we have cuddled like a cloud.

A rainbow falls upon the cloud

and downpour drenches, and the wind howls.

And its aftermath, we have become as clear as the sky.

In your depth, in that seriousness, O beauty,

my youthful exhuberence has been lost;

we have wept, and have laughed,

but the care today has rendered,

all of those things dull.

This care should have marked that excitement

instead of a mere “I love you,”

I could have dared to say, “I am impregnating you.”

[1]

O lass, o damozel,

love thrives even in woods.

In countryside; in the town,

that love alone does not suffice;

here should come impregnation – pious and responsible

Buddha should be begotten here, and Lenin.

Other than children, is there a clearer mirror

whereon our image is reflected the best?

A self-reflection should evolve here.

[2]

O lass, o damozel,

when I meet you next,

I shall tell you straight,

“I will impregnate you.”

And if I do not meet you,

I shall find someone

as enticing as you are

and equally numbed,

drawing my heart closer as you do.

To that lass, to that damozel,

I am in full care; I will be strong enough to say,

“I will impregnate you.”

---

Gopal Prasad Rimal (1918 - 1973) Nepal

Translated by Mahesh Paudyal

Source: Dancing Soul of Mount Everest, Editor Momila, Nepali Kalasahitya Dot Com Pratishthan [Nepali Art & Literature Dot Com Foundation], 2011