The Day I Wept

Krishna Prasai

Poet Krishna Prasai

Ripples of joy had gripped the world !

While many enjoyed in freedom

The festive hours with fire-crackers 

I was reclining, down with grief;

It was 29 May 1953, Wednesday.

A man from New Zealand stepped upon my head

Another man, who stood a top the hood

Was a porter from my own country 

Who, in the long run, became a foreigner too. 

The truth I know is single 

The Himalayas stand above us

And the nation above the Himalayas;

We exist because the Himalayas and the nation do.

The day Hilary placed his foot atop Sagarmatha

And Tenzing atop his own cap,

Someone rose above the nation.

That day

When Sagarmatha, the world's hood we revere as God

Shied away,

That day, when the crown of the world was vanquished 

That day, when grandeur withered 

Was the day I cried 

Seeing my height diminish,

Getting a stranger's footstep upon myself

Seeing you crown a man who downplayed my hood

How can I call a person great

Who crushed down my head

And is doing so, even now

Erecting a Pyramid of impurity?

I have a question for you, Motherland!

Which of your gods is appeased 

With cash offerings placed in a temple

By someone who places his feet 

Atop the idols enshrined therein?

I care not what you say;

I defy your old statute!

Say, where on earth the head can be crushed 

After paying a fee for it?

Under whose rules can the crown be trampled 

After some cash has been paid?

Which law allows anyone to mount atop the chest

Merely for some pelf paid thereof ?

Presently, I am soaked with indignation and hatred

On seeing the rules your country sets.

Translated by Mahesh Paudyal

Krishna Prasai is a poet, story writer and essayist. He has eight books to his credit. His works have been translated into Nepali, Korean, Bengali, Burmese, Thai, German, Hindi, Singhala and English. His poetry collection 'Never Say Goodbye' is one of the books available in English. 'The Day I Wept' is one of the poems from 'Never Say Goodbye'.