The Bus Ride

Himalayan Mountains, Nepal

by Deborah Guzzi

The bus back to Kathmandu—draped from roof to bumper with riders—careens from rock walls to ledge, beeping. Stray dogs and wayward cyclist dodge its downward path into the valley’s maw. Its open windowed, metal sides, rumble-creak over the serpentine mountain track. Dust clouds scarf behind. Molting pine forests hold back crumbling ochre walls on the upward slope, far, far below farmers labor like soldier ants in dry fields. High over the valley, hawks kite. The bus shakes and groans under the burden of passengers who babbling away in Indian, Nepali, Danish and Chinese. Caged chickens cackle. Boxed in between my two Nepali guides, I chatter away in English. The universal discourse continues around the cardboard boxes, backpacks and assorted shopping bags. Babies sleep through the din cocooned in their mother’s arms.

gutters sparkle with
cellophane candy wrappers:
sweat and sandalwood

Deborah Guzzi is a healing facilitator, healing through touch and the written word. She has written three books. The Healing Heart, Heaven & Hell in a Nutshell and The Hurricane available now through Prolific Press, Her poetry appears in Journals & Literary Reviews in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Greece, India and dozens of others in the USA.