Shobha Dhungana
For as long as I remember,
I’ve been trapped beneath your weight,
Struggling to move, to breathe,
Bound tight by an unyielding fate.
My body craves to dance,
To feel joy’s wild embrace,
But your chains hold me captive,
Restricting every trace.
My hands try to write for me,
And craft in a language free,
And see they’re restrained, all the way
As you inhabit me.
?
My mouth wants to sing,
My heart, to burst into light,
But you silence the melody,
Crushing dreams that take flight.
I rise, I burn,
I crawl, then walk, then run.
I long to soar for freedom,
Beneath the unbridled sun.
No more shall my dreams shatter
No more to be left to decay.
I’ll rise like a blazing star,
Carving my own way.
I’m not yours to control,
Nor to bend or confine.
I won’t stay silent, defeated—
Let me go, or watch me shine!
-September 22, 2024, Kathmandu
