ANUJA GHIMIRE

Anuja Ghimire is from Kathmandu, Nepal. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and two little children and writes poetry. A Pushcart nominee, she has been published in several literary journals like Red River Review, Shot Glass Journal, Right Hand Pointing, Cyclamens and Swords. 
More poems can be found in her blog saffronandsymmetry.tumblr.com

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Forgiveness Ritual by Anuja Ghimire

​
Come
as an earthen pot
brimming with pure milk
Ready
to quench the stone bull
who has squatted for centuries
Bring
a garland of daffodils
spun with your own hands
Early
the sparrows have left the branches
and dropped the leaves
Listen
the vermillion should be redder
than the crevices of my heart
Remember
the saffron should be ready
to cover the holes in the air
Know
the forehead is cleansed for worship
with dewdrops and uncreased of the past
Leave
the hide of your sandals;
they will only crush
the petals
Let
your uncurled toes earn
the steps to the statue
Hand over
the basket with the offering
to the ground
Give
only a moment
of your presence in truth
Leave
with forgiveness
in your open palms
or
Stay 

Palimpsest by Anuja Ghimire 

​
These footsteps do not leave traces
The trails wash away with tears 
Falling from the eyes huddled over the soil
On which I first crawled and softly trode

Earth, you aren’t ours in equal parts
These eyes are somehow less on our faces
How are shrinking beings witnesses?

The flash only blinds waterfalls from a higher mountain
Stars, why don’t you migrate over greater sorrows?
The light you bend on our wounds does not reflect

Oh, clouds, your shadows are as dark as the furnace
Forever, a power outage and a whimpering, dying rage
Lower truths of these scabs that become the palimpsest

Sun, why give us night and day?
As if we will forget, this fate will change, and we will have a say