Creative Writing

Had I not stumbled I would have fallen

If that small mistake had not been made
how mistaken my life would have been

To fathom my heart’s depths, how often
I would have been misled by the heartbeat of faraway

Had I not been swept aside by a rivulet
the rising tide would have drawn me under

If I hadn’t been grazed by the paws of a cat
I would have fallen into the mouth of a tiger

If I hadn’t stumbled in the base camp itself
I would have plummeted from 29,000 feet

If I hadn’t stumbled
a mishap would have marked me forever

If a small mistake had not been made
how wrong my life would have been

-    Manju Kanchuli

     Translated by Wayne Amtzis