Jayant Sharma
Words are clay,
moulded by hands,
shaped by intent.
Place them gently,
and they build bridges.
Place them carelessly,
and they become walls.
“I love you” is a sunrise,
warm, hopeful,
a promise etched in light.
But twist it—
“I you love”—
and it stumbles,
a song missing its melody.
“Let’s eat, Grandma”
is a family feast.
“Let’s eat Grandma”
is a horror story.
The same words,
different worlds.
“She’s kind”
is a compliment.
“She’s too kind”
is a doubt.
A single word shifts the sky.
“I need space”
can mean growth.
“I need my space”
can mean distance.
The tone, the pause, the silence—
they all speak.
“You’re amazing”
lifts the soul.
“You’re… amazing”
cuts like a knife.
The ellipsis,
a tiny abyss.
Words are seeds,
planted in the soil of conversation.
Water them with kindness,
and they bloom into understanding.
Drown them in malice,
and they rot into regret.
A single word can be a dagger or a balm.
“No” can be a boundary,
or a prison.
“Yes” can be a gift,
or a trap.
It’s not the word,
but the weight we give it.
At last,
words are power,
but power is a double-edged sword.
Wield them with care,
for they can heal or harm,
build or destroy,
unite or divide.
The choice,
like the words,
is yours.
(Jayant Sharma is a writer, editor, and literary translator specialising in Nepali-English translations. He has translated over a dozen notable works, including Beyond Borders, Whispers in the Mountain, Rose’s Odyssey, Unsung Heroes, In the Battle of Kirtipur, Guerrilla Girl, Gurkha War Poems, and Children Stories from Nepal, among others. As the editor of SATHI, a Kathmandu-based English literary magazine, he has actively promoted Nepali literature through translations. He is also the founder of translateNepal, an initiative aimed at bringing Nepali literature to a global audience. Jayant runs the blog Anuvaad, dedicated to translating Nepali literary works into English, and is currently working on several important translation volumes. He is also the author of To Whom It May Concern, a poetry collection published in Australia. He can be accessed through jayant.catchme@gmail.com )
