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Suman Pokhrel (September 21, 1967) is a Nepali poet, lyricist, translator and artist. He is noted for creating impressionable images across his poems that revolve around the nuances of life. Universities in Nepal and India have included his poetry in their syllabi.[1][2][3]
Pokhrel is the only writer to have received the SAARC Literary Award twice. He received this award in 2013 and 2015. He is recipient of several other national and international literary awards including Shaluk International Literature Award and Asia's Inspiring Poet Award.[3] [4][5]
I feel my body, desperate to know whether I’m still alive.
From Poetry
- Every morning
I wake up with the news
of bloodshed.
I feel my body,
desperate to know whether
I’m still alive.
and want you to be my fever.
- Thank God,
my name isn't in the list of those
who died or were
killed yesterday!
- An uneasy rhythm of life
is more life like than an easy death.
- I chose none to ask
why the wind was blowing there
chasing the fogs - I asked none
why life ends in ways uncertain.
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- The dream too thinks twice,
gets filtered to go soft
to be seated on children's eyes.
- Even if they (Children) try to pluck it,
the flower submits itself onto their hands.
If it happens to prick their heels,
the thorn scorns itself all its life.
- I wonder–
didn’t the Creator really do injustice?
With a power to defeat everyone without any battle,
children are busy at play with the most beautiful moments of their life.
Once they grow conscious of it,
those moments will have gone away
never to return to them.
- Once positioned on their(children's) lips,
even the scariest of words
come out as a melodious lisp.
- Even If they (children) fall during their play,
the nature, having come
under the spell of their creative sports,
doesn’t know when they again start to play so full of jest.
Believing that they fall unknowingly
the ground, mostly, does not even hurt them.
- If they (children) smash, the flower vase assumes a smile
while turning into pieces.
For a chance to be spilled by their hands,
anything they hold gets spilled itself full of happiness.
For a chance to play with them,
water forgets about its own colourlessness.
- Let me not so much be lost in involvements
as would make me incapable of
recognizing the fragrance of the flower
beaming in my own yard.
- May I not so much be lost as would have
No time to look at myself
Ever.
- May I not so much, so much be lost, just
To see the hue, grace, glory gone
Off the face of my beloved
As I’d wake and be conscious.
- Will you please go journeying
for your own sake,
till I come living a moment of life?
- Through years of my prime
I walked with a heart
crazy about love.
- I wanted my heart to bloom
and shelter a shadow of love
- I wanted to paint a picture,
in indelible print, across
the canvass of my heart.
- I am tipsy after my
own feelings
themselves have become wine.
I forget myself, world and all.
- If
I'd ever grown prosperous like Shah Jahan was,
I'd not have waited for my beloved's death
before I erected a Taj Mahal.
- I want the fever to grab me forever
and want you
to be my fever
- Tonight, may I get so drunk in love that
I do not see any dreams!
- Commands-
you're sure to hear from above
if you're placed down below.
- I like desires like children
and their plays
that tease me now and then into
knowing life.
- I salute my desires with a bow.,
were it not for them to come and play
mind would be empty just like me.
- I believed all along,
one day
everyone would go mad
just to see me sane.
- Even after all that, each and every being here believe,
that the heat will be defeated and coolness will prevail.
The experience knows
that the rule of an autocrat cannot last long.
- Haunted trees
covered behind the curtains of their own leaves
stare at the dark
from the fringe of streets.
- Lampposts look
in the glow of their defeated light
robbed by the fog
but cannot tell
if the streets
lying by stretching limbs in courtyards
are sleeping face downwards or supine.
- Creation does not cease
just because there is darkness!
- I would regard meanings given by others so far as refreshing boon,
I would still be enamored of rose or any heartless flower's smell
if tender tides of your affection had not suffused
the pollen of my heart with loving aroma.
- I shall not go out at all
given that my love is here
shall always stay attached to these hearts.
I shall never bid farewell to this place!
But I have to send this body
anyhow from here.
- What heart touched is what is touched
what heart experienced is what is experienced
where heart lived is what is lived.
- I could not say
which one was more authentic,
their fate or
the slender woody sticks
that supported their shacks.
- I felt I was getting enraged
and losing my speech
like them losing their dreams.
- I was feeling like mad
by the melody of birds
singing out of tune
in the settlements
where travels lose
their own destinations.
- Is freedom dearer than life?
or does it become easier to live
when life becomes difficult?
- Life was running, running
after a mirage-like desires.
- I asked my life
why it carried along my dreams but
chose to escape me.
- Still enveloped in a blanket of dreams
my life continued to lie still, pretending as if
it was in a deep slumber.
- The road kept coming, and
continued going somewhere alone.
- This evening, too
the Sun had to tell the same story
before he went away,
leaving the forlorn moon
hankering after his light.
- Let us be honest
we have praised Angulimala
will make no difference
if you convey my salute to Amrapali.
- This moment
I am keener on the stories of valour
washed away by this year's monsoon floods
than the abstract shapes
glued to myths, history and stories.
- When this flood blocks the road
I am worried more
by my soil getting washed,
than by getting late
to reach my destination.
- Should I complete this poem
or should I put
my room’s light out?
- In how many minds
should I go crazy?
whom should I ask?
- Which eyes should I look for
to find the ultimate
unreasoned answer?
- Without asking anybody’s advice
I turned myself insane.
- You who are sitting before me
have the power to
change my consciousness
into painting, poem, melody
or anything else!
- I know you'll speak no truth at this time.
I've to be guided
solely by your silence, your eyes and
the inaudible appeals of your heart.
- The walls are releasing heat ,
as if they are angry with each other.
The room has been insaned by the heat.
The bed is inflamed as if it were an oven.
The bed sheet is soaked with sweat,
and about to run away getting stuck to the man.
- The experience knows
that the rule of an autocrat cannot last long.
- From the sky
one cannot touch the heart of the stone
petrified with a desire to live
after living a life of softness for long,
one cannot get to touch the tenderness of a flower
smiling despite being battered in turn
by heat and frost.- From the Sky
- The lovers feel that they are content
looking at each other from a distance.
The repulsiveness caused by heat between them,
is more powerful than all cravings for love and lust.
- Having been ripped open and drained by the crowd
when I enter my home,
many homes seem to be waiting for me
to give a shape to this life
which is about to perish.
- I'm searching a heart
inside me--
a heart
that's ebullient by swallowing
the entire pain of the creation,
a heart jubilant by accepting
the entire tears of the world,
a heart aglow by merging
the entire dark within itself
a heart that's smooth, effervescent and clean.
- This market speaking life
when heard from each person
is now making staggering confused noise
of all people speaking together.
- Man and woman cease to be humans
once they get lost into crowds.
- Are people like market
who live as humans when they’re alone
but live as great complexity
when they’re in groups?
- Pristine river of lives is swallowed by the crowd- Human getting lost into humans.
- Standing in a Market
- All trees and birds
sky and stars
bosoms and bangles
were seeing everything.
- I had also read
on the face of surroundings
some broken
some disconnected
some cracked expectations.
- I’ve touched some sentences
and have kissed some words.
- Eyes that obstruct the road can be removed
but what happens when hearts block the passage?
- Do not think
I’ve reached where I am now
by slipping like a landslide
or evaporating like a cloud.
- I’ve climbed up here
holding the hilt of time’s sword
after driving it
into my tender heart.
- Whether anybody comes to convince me or not
a part of my life does always ache
arresting my chest.
- May I splinter away from myself
break into whole units
and
live in each with perfection!
- This ME
made whole by
combining countless fragments
could not live in any one part
with complete ease.
- May I discard the outer cover of time
from the layers of poetry
by immersing the poet in its entirety
within me
- May life remain enamored of its own charm
- May the river of love always flow from its own lap.
- May my pain remain drunk singing its own love songs
- (May) the dead body of agony remain asleep
resting its head on a pillow of flowers.
- May I free myself from the labyrinth of knowledge
- May I pack all inventions in burlaps
and hide them in corners of Einsteins’ brains.
- May I free myself from the ever-pressing chest
and enter the garden of imagination
by leisurely hiding brain on hill summits.
- May I take off clothes covering shame at the border
leaving them hanging on dry trees of arrogance
and run by wearing the rays of the sun.
- May I create plain fields by collecting clouds
and bedeck them with arching rainbows.
- Playing ball of wind
reaching the other end of The Road Not Taken
may I call in Robert Frost by holding hands
and request Ginsberg to recite Howl
facing the world.
- May I exchange T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland
with the future of this earth like a lunatic’s dreams
and make one season of poetry farming
by tilling with the pen of desire.
- Fell in love with these hearts and this soil
these houses, these walls and streets.- I Shall Bid No Farewell
- Every moment age is creeping up stealthily,
but life, life is melting down
like a candle that is flickering around.- A Birthday Greeting to Myself
- Life is withering away
like a candle that is melting down.- A Birthday Greeting to Myself
- Life incinerates incessantly trying to smile
and keeps broiling continuously
pretending to be alive.- A Birthday Greeting to Myself
- Death is shaping up slowly and quietly
but life, life is melting down
like a candle that is flickering all night.- A Birthday Greeting to Myself
- Neither my acts have wiped the woes of
any sufferer out, nor have I cured
pains of wounded ones;
with the faith pompous mercenary,
O' Glorious! O 'Lord Almighty!
how can I bow my head in your adulation?- O' Lord Almighty!
- Neither my deeds contain any essence
nor, my gestures have sense of zeal,
my days are creeping forth for nothingness;
with this body deficient of heart and soul
O' Glorious! O' Lord Almighty !
how can I come close to you?- O' Lord Almighty!
- Tonight, let us exchange every part of our bodies and every space of our souls with each other.
- Let Us Affix Our Being Together
- The eyes hold tears for so long, let us fill it with love and passion.
- Let Us Renovate this Night
- Let us convert this night we are breathing together, to a bright morning.
- Let Us Renovate this Night
- Unaware about my surrounding, unconscious I live.
- I'm in Oblivion
- It’s not my wish to walk intoxicated; to live for never is not my choice.
- I'm in Oblivion
- A portion of life, every moment gets torn out of me hurting, and flees away.
- I'm in Oblivion
- Wishing to grab the life with nothingness
wanting to erase the sigh of tiredness
forgetting myself completely from my being
why do I seek embrace of yours
do not ask me, I know not,
I am in oblivion.- I'm in Oblivion
- Let my pains remain with me.
- Let My Pain Remain
- Let my pains remain with me, I won't utter, I express it not.
- Let My Pain Remain
- My heart itself is a wound,
no medicine can cure it.
It deepens further if stared at,
and hurts more if touched.- Let My Pain Remain
- This ambiance of candlelight reminds of nights that traveled its way, in entangled embrace of yours and mine.
- A Reminiscent Candlelight
- I like you everywhere on you.
- You Everywhere
- May I get melted in closeness and get blazed in embrace.
- May I get Engulfed
- I wish me to cry for no reason in excess of love.
- May I get Engulfed
- I wish me to vanish somewhere around here.
- May I get Engulfed
- The feeling I groped assuming love was nothing but a fire.
- Setting Fire on Desires
- Keep some fires burning in your heart; I would extinguish it if I could, or get myself engulfed with it.
- Setting Fire on Desires
- I shall give you a song, and you fill melody in it.
- Let Us Renovate this Night
- I want to be everywhere of you.
- You Everywhere
- How could it be wished that poetry of a mellow age be born when this time is taking showers in the drama of loathsome taste!”
- Bereft of Poetry
- It's not as easy as it is with chewing shame and foolishness to chew the wreckage of broken time.
- Bereft of Poetry
- I'm bereft of poetry on this planet, from where the beauties of Creation are vanishing away furiously.”
- Bereft of Poetry
- What was wafting in the smoke of burning tires? Where had time caught in the traffic jam not reaching?”
- Dhaka
- I had read on the face of surroundings;
some broken, some disconnected, some cracked expectations.- While Parting
- I want to love the self that you say is you.
- My Search of You
- May my pains remain with me, I won't utter, I express it not.
- May My Pains Remain with Me
- I gather all of my sorrow, and
bring you in my reminiscence,
I think of you
and forget all of my pain.- Reminiscences
- When I closed my eyes
withdrawing myself from darkness
I saw light glowing everywhere.- A Rendezvous with Life at Midnight
- I spry my closed vision over
the streets of this city and the shadows lurching within it.- Wealth
- The road meanders, wandering in tandem with itself.
- Journey
- Ascending and descending, uphill and downhill, the road inclines and slopes, sliding down yet climbing anew.
- Journey
- The road never halts.
- Journey
- Splitting love among differences
between love and soul,
love and the heart,
love and the body
love and life
and slicing it further
into multiple pieces
how may I offer you my entire love?- How May I Offer You the Entire Love?
- I have offered
many of my self to you
to get a single you.- Embracing the Abyss
- I lived my youth in dreams of others.
- How Much Did I Live
- Someone asked me,
'Is there water in your pot?'
I pointed to the leaves of a coconut tree.- I Am Not Writing Anything at the Aryaghat
From Prose
- Strength of creative writing lies in the skill of handling words and articulating artistic expression of feelings.”
- Foreword, 'Tales of Transformation: English Translation of Tagore's Chitrangada and Chandalika', Lopamudra Banerjee, (2018)
- In influencing write-ups, words seem to move despite residing still on paper.
- Foreword, 'Tales of Transformation: English Translation of Tagore's Chitrangada and Chandalika', Lopamudra Banerjee, (2018)
- In many a situation, the images that words hide while walking forth are the desired meaning of particular words rather than the word itself. Those words sing and dance by coming out of the paper.
- Foreword, 'Tales of Transformation: English Translation of Tagore's Chitrangada and Chandalika', Lopamudra Banerjee, (2018)
- Language is texture of images and music. We speak in images and rhythm, by taking help of words.
- Foreword, 'Tales of Transformation: English Translation of Tagore's Chitrangada and Chandalika', Lopamudra Banerjee, (2018)
- In literary translations, it is this very articulation of expressions that matters the most to bring home to the readers the full essence of the original text in question.
- Foreword, 'Tales of Transformation: English Translation of Tagore's Chitrangada and Chandalika', Lopamudra Banerjee, (2018)
- Chance of source language influencing the target language and that of the translator intervening onto the style of original writer are major challenges in literary translation.
- Foreword, 'Tales of Transformation: English Translation of Tagore's Chitrangada and Chandalika', Lopamudra Banerjee, (2018)
- On translating text into the new language as it is in source language, there is a chance of it being emerged as an absurd sentence in the target language making no sense at all. In the attempt to make the translation meaningful to the target language, there exists a risk of the original work getting meddled by the translator’s style.”
- Foreword, 'Tales of Transformation: English Translation of Tagore's Chitrangada and Chandalika', Lopamudra Banerjee, (2018)
- Literary translation is not merely an act of picking words from one language and keeping it by dipping in the vessel of another language. Those words need to be rinsed, washed, carved and decorated as much as possible.
- Foreword, 'Tales of Transformation: English Translation of Tagore's Chitrangada and Chandalika', Lopamudra Banerjee, (2018)
- Poetry emerging from a poet enters into the reader only when it comes within the readers’ 'sphere of intellect.
- Translator's Note, Bhaarat: Shashwat Aawaj, trans. Suman Pokhrel (2019)[6]
- A reader cannot take poetry by expanding it beyond his/her consciousness, rather can take by shrinking it within.
- Translator's Note, Bhaarat: Shashwat Aawaj, trans. Suman Pokhrel (2018)
- There exists a chance of every poem getting changed while reaching every reader. This ‘getting changed’ is a form of ‘getting translated’, in a way. So, every assimilation of any poem is a translation.
- Translator's Note, Bhaarat: Shashwat Aawaj, trans. Suman Pokhrel (2018)
- Before getting translated, a poem already gets shrunk or expanded within the ‘sphere of intellect’ of the translator in the original language, and it again gets shrunk or expanded within the ‘sphere of intellect’ of the translator in the target language.
- Translator's Note, Bhaarat: Shashwat Aawaj, trans. Suman Pokhrel (2018)
- In translation of poetry; there exists a possibility of components like imagination, art of wordplay, skill of constructing internal rhythm and expand of knowledge of the poet getting affected by the constraint and differentia of the translator.
- Translator's Note, Bhaarat: Shashwat Aawaj, trans. Suman Pokhrel (2018)
From Interviews
- Poetry is a potent tool capable of guiding societies worldwide through its invisible aesthetic strength.
- Interview with Dagmara K.[7]
- Imagery plays a vital role in conveying a message, bringing it to life, and engaging readers' senses and emotions.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Anything that touches my heart holds the potential to inspire me.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Nature is the grandest warehouse discovered on this planet, hence anything that touches my heart holds the potential to inspire me, as it enables me to delve into my emotions and forge connections with others through shared experiences.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- The importance of forging meaningful relationships and exploring the intricacies of human connections has served as a catalyst for my creative expression.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Through my writing, I aim to highlight the significance of fostering healthy and fulfilling relationships and inspire others to cherish the bonds they share with fellow human beings.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Imagery immerses readers in the ambiance created by the pebbles of words, making it compelling and memorable.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- My ultimate aspiration in life is to contribute to a world where peace prevails, as peace is the ultimate achievement to realize in life.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Writing is also like love, if one can't have the courage to be a renunciant, they cannot write well.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- At this juncture, the 'world' is no longer confined to just one or two places; it has spread worldwide.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Nature is the grandest warehouse discovered on this planet.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- I firmly believe that everyone should be free to pursue their desires as long as it does not harm others or society.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- As human beings, we have an innate need to create and innovate from within ourselves to address our own concerns.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- I believe that the human being is the most complicated chapter of existence, with thousands of dimensions.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- As a writer, I believe that showing or letting readers feel is often more convincing than telling, and imagery allows me to accomplish just that.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Peace is the ultimate achievement to realize in life.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Poets are the most difficult creatures to work with.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Human being is the most complicated chapter of existence.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- As humans, we seek ways to fill gaps in our lives through love, food, pleasure, challenges, and more.
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- Nepal is my home, a land of many wonders, but the greatest of them all is its unparalleled diversity and rich heritage.”
- Interview with Dagmara K. at Spillwords
- I dread to think of a society devoid of love, compassion and humanity.
- Interview with Romain Molina[8]
- Love is a feeling and its expression is an art.
- Interview with Romain Molina
- I found the Taj Mahal as the most appropriate example of artistically expressed love.
- Interview with Romain Molina
- As my childhood got opportunity to grow up amidst variety of geography and people practicing different cultures, I could experience the very essence of our diversity.
- Interview with Romain Molina
- Poetry is part of our culture in many ways.
- Interview with Romain Molina
- I am quite sure that poetry will live long with our generations to come.
- Interview with Romain Molina
- Love, compassion, humanity are values which are irreplaceable.
- Interview with Romain Molina
- The Taj Mahal is not just a monument, but a symbol of love.
- Interview with Romain Molina
- We cannot imagine a mind without body.
- Interview with Romain Molina
Others
- A good poem cannot be written with one's mind on the earth. Though one has to write poems about the earth and existence, one cannot write poems while staying grounded. To write an outstanding poem, a flight to the heights of transcendence is needed. However, a person cannot always remain in that elevated state. When one descends, they touch the earth and write ordinary stuff.
- quoted on Goodreads[9]
- Trust isn't solely about keeping faith in others' promises; it's also about being dependable in the promises we've made to others.
- quoted on Goodreads
- Merely holding the desire to walk together with someone is not enough if one does not possess the art and aptitude of walking together.
- quoted on Goodreads
- A heart can hold a heart-full of anything.
- quoted on Goodreads
- Silence is the best language to speak in when you have lots of things to say.
- quoted on Goodreads
- I am stark sane, but my mind is erratically crazy.
- quoted on Goodreads
- I am playful in words but sincere in action.
- quoted on Goodreads
- No matter how happy you are; start assuming, suspecting and doubting; and make yourself the most unhappy person on the universe.
- quoted on Goodreads
- Keep yourself busy until you feel sleepy.
- quoted on Goodreads
- Silence is polite, but not always.
- quoted on Goodreads
- Love is the cruelest event.
- quoted on Goodreads
- Sometimes, silence works more intensely than a bayonet to slay a tender heart.
- quoted on Goodreads
- Some people are so stiff-necked that they cannot think any other way than their own preconceived ideas.
- quoted on Goodreads
- If you are working in a team, do not expect an outcome of your excellence.
- quoted on Goodreads
- Together; we would create some ecstatic memories, but you are either busy or sleepy.
- quoted on Goodreads
- I exist no more, every moment a new being lives inside me.
- quoted on Goodreads
- They called it that, I mean ‘democracy’.
- quoted on Goodreads
- ↑ K. Satchidanandan & Ajeet Cour, ed. (20 November 2011), The Songs We Share, Foundation of SAARC Wirters and Literature, pp. 88, 179, 255, ISBN 978-8188703210
- ↑ Ghimire, Madhav (26 May 2018). फ्रान्सेली पाखुरामा नेपाली कविता. kantipurdaily.com.
- 1 2 (February 2024)"सुमन पोखरेल - कृतित्वका विस्तारित आयाम". Aalekha 6 (6): 25–38. ISSN 2645-8659.
- ↑ Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Saturday, February 14, 2015
- ↑ Five writers honored at SAARC Literature Festival (in en). Hindustan Times (2013-03-11).
- ↑ "Translator’s Note" (in English & Nepali (Bilingual)) (Paperback), Bhatat Shashwat Aawaz, Kathmandu: Nepali Kala Sahitya Dat Kam, April 11, 2018, pp. 257, ISBN 9789937053914
- ↑ Pokhrel, Suman. Interview with Dagmara K. "Interview Q&A With Suman Pokhrel." July 18, 2023.
- ↑ Pokhrel, Suman. Interview with Romain Molina. "I Dread to Think of a Society Devoid of Love, Compassion and Humanity." May 05, 2019.
- ↑ Suman Pokhrel Quotes. Goodreads.
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