KESHAB SIGDEL (Nepal)
The sun rays
entered into the room
through small punctures in the wall
and flooded over my mother’s shawl
that spread over my body
The smoke from the clay oven
raised and tossed the walls of the chimney,
and returned to the room, making it hazy,
forming a smoke cloud seeking its way out
through ventilations
The milk kettle whistled, and
the foam oozed out of the lid
A white stream ran down the kitchen slab
trickling on the floor drop by drop
Whining Malaika, my puppy, wasn’t sure
why I didn’t join her for the morning game
She moved out of the room
with an apprehensive gaze through her half-closed eyes
She had probably sniffed that something wasn’t right
They did it all early this morning
I could not wait to say to her–
I’m sorry
I was dead
but not annihilated
Now is the hour of Al-Qiyamah,
the rising of the Dead!
Bio
Keshab Sigdel (1979) is an acclaimed Nepali poet, editor, academic and rights activist. Besides poetry, he also writes fiction, literary essays and plays. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Poetry Planetariat, a global poetry magazine published by World Poetry Movement. He is the recipient of the Bhanubhakta Gold Medal (Culture Ministry of Nepal, 2014), Rock Pebbles Literature Award (India, 2018) and many such.
