Beyond My Mother's Understanding

"International Waters"-
my mother does not understand
this strange word
she lives in the small village of south Asia
she knows only
a small spring water fountain of the mountain
my villagers, too, do not have any idea
where it goes - the nearby river
they have been seeing just
it is floating south
since great-grandfather's time
perhaps, generation to generation
our six thousand rivers
running south, heading south
I know, these rivers soon become the Indian Ocean
if they are able to spread enough far
can become the Asia Pacific
which politicians call-
"International Waters."
                                      27 June, 2002, New Jersey, USA.

All poems are from-'From My Heart to Your Heart'  © Prathaa Magar (Pradeep Thapa)

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