Lipstick Mark, Where Do You Go
By Phan Tan Hai
You carried the fragrance of the sky
from the days of short hair,
bringing it back to leave upon your lips—
a lipstick mark pressed onto paper,
oh one lifetime of longing.
Sitting beside you for a single day,
then a lifetime of farewells;
at the far edge of the sky, birds fly,
their cries falling back
as sorrow gathers in my hands.
Memory—your green hair of one season;
beloved—the small station by the school;
waiting for you, slender as smoke;
forever remembering the letter l for loving you,
beloved—the letter m for missing you.
A lifetime I have searched for you,
eyes looking across many realms;
have you lost your way, little bird?
Lines of poetry bleeding purple ink,
a sharp ache etched into the heart.
If only we had held each other
and strayed off the ancient path—
lipstick mark, where do you go?
The scent I once stole from you
I hide in poems for ten thousand sorrowed lives.
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