I imagined the Bicol Express zipping through
the patches of billboards crowding each other
and I saw you seated nonchalantly by the window
oblivious of the hazy strobe of nipa huts, trees and high wires
jumpy frames like a film derailed from its sprockets
did you have to leave earlier than all of us?
every hour gone from the time you left
were precious sands from a shore of memories
collected as keepsakes but now spilling in a waisted glass
as streams of regrets fast receding, collecting in tidal pools
now, there you sit on a fast moving train
nary a thought of the stretch of sandy dunes and starry skies
shared a few cherished days ago in a sultry beach in Legazpi
did you have to leave earlier than all of us?
I missed my chance to say what I wanted to say all summer
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Eddie - since you don't allow messages - You think and write like a poet. To suggest that you now try to write without including yourself as 'I' into the poems... may not be possible for you. Or - it just might raise your poetry to a new level of more widely shared expression.. Your deal..! Best wishes, Michael