№ 165. Takipsilim / Twilight

Anna, huwag kang magtampisaw
Dyan sa katinikan ng mga karayom.

Mahirap na, uhaw ang pangil nila
Sa katas ng papel mong sakong.

Tumawid ka na lang
Nang nakatiklop ang bumbunan.

№ 160. The Consolation of Grief

Grief is a curious beast.

He's barbed, so you know he can sting.

Also, he's quite reserved and shy.

He comes for visits.

But you have to invite him in.

You have to insist he stays a bit.

Of course, he declines, at first.

He's a little embarrassed by the invitation, 

As is his nature. But he accepts, anyway.

He thinks it's just impolite to ignore a second offer.

So you finally see him seated in your living room.

Quiet. A little out of place on your sofa. But there.

You offer him a brew of black bitterness.

He loves the aroma. It scalds the sinuses

Like the sniffles from a December smog.

№ 148. Forced Dialogues

The Conquering Hero is Tired
by Charles Simic

Often I sit at your window
For Hours on end watching you snooze.
You could be in medical school
Sawing a cadaver.
You could be leading men into battle,
Donning judicial robes,
Inventing a new potato peeler, and so forth.
My kind admonition, my well-meant
Remonstrances you receive
By turning your face to the wall.

Blue dusk and the night's gloom
Are your true cronies.
Streets time forgot where fire-sale leaflets
Fly about, the ten-year-old assassin
Twirls his gun, the cats shield themselves
Under rusted cars.

For Christ's sake, turn off the light you plead.
I'm afraid it can't be done.
The bright sunlight, the blue sky,
The little birds hopping and chirping on the sill
Are all perfectly legal.