On Changes

I’m goin’ through changes -
the vicissitudes of Life,
they ain’t stop’n for me.

Tentang Birat-Birat

Birat-birat itu adalah
Biru lebam yang belum padam
Seakan cakaran yang cukup dalam
Pada tubuh dan jiwamu
Takkan kau lupakan
Meskipun bertahun lamanya
Meskipun dia sudah lama mati
Dendam marah itu masih sebati
Marak kesumat
Merah meligat
Api kecewa seorang anak yang terbangsat.

On Plucking the Bitter Fruit

They asked me to describe 
what it is that
I am feeling right now:

The disappointment of a son
and the alienation of a man
the bitterness of hopes
and the sweetness of vindication
the smallness of petty disagreements
and the enormity of loss
even if it is just the losing of you

I buried you yesterday
and I accepted your mantle
but I refuse this myth-making
this farce of false memories

You left us yesterday
but I left you long ago.

On Winning

I came home and
opened the door
It was early morning
and my cat meowed
welcoming me home

I stooped down to pet her
with tears in my eyes, saying
“You won, Monkey. You won.”

On Passing Away

Gaunt and thin
Shallow breath
Frenzied beat
and then a sharp swift fall

He takes a final breath
and leaps heavenward
leaving us behind to
grieve.