The Water Mill

Nabin K Chhetri

Poet Nabin K Chhetri

At Daunne, the road bends behind a row of hills.

The narrow iron bridge creaks,

stretching its rusty hinges,

and lets through, one vehicle at a time.

An old mill sits beside the stream, its roof

covered with green moss.

The mountain water rushes inside

turning the iron shaft, moving the grinding stone.

Towards evening, the air swells with mist.

Trucks carrying potatoes from Palung 

wheel back with dipped fog lights, 

shooting a tunnel through the haze.

Up on the hill top, the children wait in the wind

for their parents, who struggle uphill

carrying sacks of millet for a long winter.

Born in Nepal, Nabin Kumar Chhetri graduated with a degree of M.St in Creative Writing from Oxford University with a Distinction in Poetry. He also holds a degree of M.Litt in Novel from the University of Aberdeen. His awards include the St. Peter's Foundation Award (Oxford University) and awards from Italy, Israel and Nepal for his poems. In 2011, he received the Nosside International Poetry prize (UNESCO Heritage Award) for his poem ‘Memory’ from). His poems have been published in more than 70 national and international journals. He lives in Scotland with his wife and two children. He pens his thoughts in https://nabinkchhetri.wordpress.com