A Nepali poem by Manjul Miteri: Translated to English by Hem Bishwakarma

Orimen*! Oh, Orimen! Mouthful of your Tiffin Snatched by the ‘Little Boy’*! The Tiffin box, adorned with flowers, Scattered and spoilt, Blown out brutally. A handful of your young breath In the silence of Hiroshima Peace Museum, In the depth of this stillness, Sobs every day and night, Cascading incessant tears! Oh, Orimen! Blown out With the hot lethal smoke of the Bomb In the misfortune of your hunger and thirst. Looking at your Tiffin box that carries An unuttered scream, I feel that In the nooks and corners of this Earth, By the tremor of the missiles Blasted in war celebrations, Your deformed body that bears the creviced Earth, Is postured in peace. Oh, Orimen! The war slays Countless innocents like you. The war deletes many opportunities For innocents like you. Then, As your Tiffin box Stands on the ruins of life That is destroyed and slain, War repetitively writes Histories of triumph and courage! The war In the sky, in the cloud, in the air, In the rays of the sun and the moon, In the womb of the Earth, In the surface of the oceans, Is trying to pen a ballad Wiping out the existence of life. We are out to teach, The scripts of love, life, peace and harmony Copied from your Tiffin box To all the guns that merely write death! With the same avowal, I have arrived feeling so frantic From the land of the Buddha, Nepal, Striding on the roads fired in war, To bring this message to you. Sorry, if I have been too late!
*An innocent boy who lost his life in Hiroshima Bombing during WWII.
*A devastating atomic bomb dropped in Japanese city, Hiroshima during WWII.
Manjul Miteri is a renowned sculptor and poet from Nepal. He is currently working with the biggest sculpture of Gautam Budhha in Asia in Japan.
Hem Bishwakarma is a translator and poet from Nepal. His works have been published in national and international poetry and literature journals and magazines.
First published in Gorkha Times, edited by Borderless to suit our needs.
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3 replies on “Oh, Orimen!”
Thank you so much for this opportunity.
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It is our pleasure. Your poem is beautiful.
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Very good dai and best of luck
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