Saturday, November 07, 2009

Okra and moon

pregnant woman

by the lapping waves of the sea

slender calves exposed


fixing the strap of her dress

woman stops sowing corn

in the mountain mist


poor cicada being hunted

girls are tired of playing

with rubber bands


another tooth fallen off

Alola still plans to charm

with her huge smiles


an okra plant was knocked down last night

the heavy rain

or afterwards the moon so cold and bright?


plants eagerly wait

in the garden patch

trembling, moon is late


book closed for the night

lover fast asleep

half-full moon


the cool breath of dawn

on your skin, my warm breath shall disturb

to wake up a storm


These short poems which I call haiku were written in East Timor in 2004 and have appeared on damau.org with a Vietnamese translation by Thường Quán.