Eyes Wide Open

Chain smoking...literally: rings rise,
link up, unclasp,
disperse.
So many friends have dispersed,
their substance washed out, their voices stifled.
Day after day, hangdog dawn
paces the horizon...back and forth.
The winds stroke idly, crooning lullabies...lifeless tunes.
The moon stares, pale behind her widow's veil.
Sadness withers the air,
scowls spread into desolate deserts,
laughter turns to a tundra achingly cold:
a lifetime lies stripped of its gorgeous garments.
Who grieves for whom...grieves for whom...for whom?
Earth & sky for flowers-blossoms blooming
deep in the lingerous longerous world of dreams.
This useless body, paralyzed...
These cries caught in the stranglehold of sorrow...
O diaspora-bloodshot eyes wide open-
teach us the lesson buried deep in dreams
of the tomb.
A fate hard as metal.
The dearly departed...
dearly departed...
forever.

Translated by Thomas O'Grady