POKARA, THE CITY OF ANGELS
By Bikal Paudel
Hour Hand’s Message to a friend
Dear minute hand,
I wait for you for an hour
And you leave in a minute
Making me wait another 59
Till we are again aligned
We both get life with the same power
Batteries in the core of this Earth that gave us birth
You go through love for numbers
You don’t wait for anyone, so I shouldn’t have expected you to wait for me
But I can’t help it. Every time you come close, I can’t feel my heartbeat
I get this feeling that makes me sit and think. And stop. I wait and wait. Tick tock *2
And this is gone before I can say a word like a writer’s block
I’d like to think I have a lot of patience but I’m just like you in the end. And together we make a fixed clock.
Maybe if I wasn’t a bit odd, and maybe if I was a just a bit tall, I could move fast just like you and with you forever without any mixed thoughts. From society. We could do anything, travel the world and climb mountains to the tip top
My minute hand,
But sometimes I feel bad for you
Maybe it’s not you that wants to play with numbers
Maybe you also just want to get settled
Find the perfect place, but more importantly the perfect time to last
But we can’t live in the past. Those damn seconds and the second hand. They move way too fast
Those people on top that determine time make me go in circles twice a day
To make us do things, they sometimes hand you fake compliments like you look nice today.
Like I don’t look nice everyday.
I used to complain about why I was so slow
Then I realized you’ve got to go in circles to do 24.
And they don’t care about us b/c we don’t have a famous brand name and we don’t keep score
They just want a rollie, rollie, rollie, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors
Not really knowing what it’s for.
My minute hand,
Every minute you’re moving for the next
Just because you’ve got that extra length
And you’ve got some extra strength
Just because we don’t have the same skill set
Of the new digital watches and the digital age
We’ve got to work twice as hard
Play games with entities that are twice as large
Is it getting political again, don’t let me start
But my minute hand,
I just want to be with you
The same Earth that gave us birth and makes us move is the same reason our love is never approved.
Same reason we can’t stop, Same reason you can’t be on top. Of me
Even when the sun disappears over the horizon
Even when there is no more moons
Time will go on, Even though we can’t live together, breathe together, and tick tock together
I will appreciate that we are both attached to the same thing, and the same energy that we bring
Maybe you’ll never be mine
But I’ll watch you move flawlessly
Even though we’ll grow old and have our own kids
And they’ll listen to you when you tell them it’s time to sleep
And more. It’s time to wake up to a loud ass beep
But minute, you will always be so fine baby
You make them check you out when it’s time to leave
When it’s time to eat, when it’s time to move their feet with a beat
When it’s time to drink
Ugh I get jealous when they stare at you so intrigued
I’m not insecure and I understand but I can’t help it I’m sorry
The way you move with that beat
Tick tock *2, my heart skips a beat
I mean without you, time will be incomplete
And it will just be me
Trying to tell people I’m not lonely
But with just one hand, they will see
Because you are that missing piece
I’ll be useless with no feet
You’re sugar to my bland tea, so damn sweet
Even though they won’t let us be
Even though they won’t stop time
For a little reflection, whether it’s happiness or affliction
I’ll wait till you’re just mine
I’ll wait till the batteries die
I’ll wait till we’re not so accustomed to life
Till we don’t all follow the same direction: clockwise
For now, I’ll let you live your own life
But please don’t run too far away from me like people run away from time
Pokhara, the city of angels
Red boats on the edge of Phewa Lake used to call me
So one day, I rowed one to the other side with Aama
30 feet deep water didn’t scare me a bit
Even though I didn’t have a life vest
No swimming lessons. If I fell, I would be lifeless
But the blue water savored of life’s best
Almost as good as how the Daalbhat waiting for me at home tastes
Perks of being a fearless ten year old looking at a mother’s smile
Thinking about home cooked food, when you’re in the wild
Though hungry, I was ecstatic
Blood flowed inside my head like the ripples underneath us
A never-ending feeling of home and connection between us
Me, my mother and my Pokhara
The sun glanced at us from behind the Annapurna range
However, before we got to Tal Barahi Temple to worship Ganesh, my favorite God,
My mood changed
Not a single cloud had interfered our morning with rain
But now sky turned grayer than I had ever seen before
Water droplets, the size of my hand-made snowballs in the winter, fell galore
We rowed and rowed for the shore
My many teardrops assimilated with the downpour
Leaving my eyes red, and my heart sore
Aama comforted me with “don’t cry, we’ll get back home” while the water rose
I had faith in her, of course and we made it back.
Safal and Kushal were waiting for us soaking wet
Their hands felt to mine like the first time they had ever met
I stayed on the porch for a little longer to soak in everything
I was relieved to be back, but a little sad too
About how sometimes life has to take a turn like our red boat had to
And how many things haven’t even happened yet
And to how many places I have not gone
But that was the first time I realized this is the best place I will call home
About the Author:
My name is Bikal Paudel. I am from Kathmandu, Nepal. I currently reside in Washington DC with my family. I love music and poetry.
