From the 10 digits 0 to 9
Numerous numbers are formed
Showing man's talent in calculation
These digits and numbers
Are then being widely used in
Gambling
Wealth estimation
Time calculation
Science and Mathematics
Leading to civilization and greed
But finally greed dominates civilization
And rules man's heart and soul
Making him a slave of
Merely 10 small and insignificant digits
M-ay
Y-our
L-ife
I-nspire
N-umerous
S-ouls
A-llowing
N-otable
J-oy
O-f
S-weet
E-motion
Topic: Birthday of Mylin G. San Jose (August 08)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
Shu and Chu are both remote and desolate areas
Where I have lived in exile for twenty-three years.
Nostalgic, I couldn’t help chanting the Reminiscent Song;
Now I return home a weathered man absent for so long.
Passing by the sunken barge, countless sails are seen;
In front of the decayed tree, numerous trees turn green.
I’m honored to listen to your melodious song today,
And empty a glass of wine to refresh myself as I pray.
(Tran.)
Sitting, trying to write, nothing
comes to me. Nothing is what it'll have to be.
Over the weekend and immediately
following the election demonstrations in the streets,
Not my president! But today is Monday
back to work and the business of business in America.
Never have we been fierce warriors.
Rhett Butler got that right: in any confrontation
with the state a platoon of new recruits
with automatic weapons outguns the stately
samurai. Ken and I were eating veggie
burgers and drinking local beers over worries
our fellow Americans will soon start shooting
Jews and Asians, lesbians and disabled veterans
whoever's recommended on the news.
There's a learning curve to disregarding tweets
and the remedies offered on facebook. Our refusal
to be more than the sum of ourselves
is our saving grace. Therefore, let
the peaceful transfer of power proceed.
Democracy doesn't guarantee smart choices,
just a chance to correct the mistakes we'll make.
You are a woman, with numerous names –
Whore,
Harlot,
Courtesan,
Street Walker,
Concubine,
Lady of the night,
Prostitute,
a sex worker???
Bird of prey -
eyed by predator pimps,
numerous numb nights
spent in bleak brothels,
flocked like cattle in filthy sheds,
Time-etched face -
worn-out profane beauty
concealed in mask of makeup
lures lewd customers
to satiate their lusty appetite
in the jungle of devouring groins.
Whirr of rickety wall-fan drowns in
cacophony of coughing customers
caricature of intercourse doodled on cracked walls
painted with betel-nut spatter stains…
Blemished ruffled bed and
stink of semen-soiled sheets
mingles with fumes of cheap liquor
and whiff of stale cigarette stubs.
Your wasted life –
a snapshot of soiled images,
a tarnished tapestry -
smeared and smudged
with sexually transmitted diseases.
sheds tears of anger, hurt and deceit
for the relics of
dreams of a dignified life…
I would rather call you -
Mother of manifold miseries
Sister of silent sufferings
Daughter of decaying despair
Wife of worldly woes!
Yes, you are still to me -
a woman with numerous names
and weeping eyes…