by Haris Adhikari

I flowed with a river
but found— not the liberation I sought.
What I realized was
rivers themselves are tied
to what we call— natural law.

By the glacial spring
I told the river, ‘Now we’re free!’
The river said, ‘You’ll see in a while…’

Then we fell from tall cliffs, dipping
down into the dungeons
of the wild. I got bumps and bruises
and was left to shrink and shout
where as the river slithered,
hitting blades of rock
and running through crevices.

I concluded:
liberation is like water
thrust through innumerable entrapments—
or say, it is so—until
I find another meaning.

Haris Adhikari is from Nepal. He edits Misty Mountain Review, an online journal of short poetry. He has recently brought out his first poetic anthology— Flowing with a River from The Society of Nepali Writers in English (NWEN). His poems have appeared in Red Fez Journal, Buddhist Poetry Review, Cyclamens and Swords Publishing, Mad Swirl, The Rusty Nail, Red Box Kite, The Enchanting Verses Literary Review and Locust Magazine, among others. To read his other poems, visit: http://ripplezhome.wordpress.com.