Longing

At times my longing
- I know not whence -
gnaws at me
shadows of the sun disappear
behind the roses
Do I long for them?
Flowers that grow
unattended
then time greets me, smiling kindly
But I am lost for words
lost them in my deep longing
only silence is left
I hope I can make myself understood
at the door my silence talks
it knows no longing

-- Lie Hwa

For Pauline ...

For tomorrow

When I die tomorrow
tell the trees
how much I loved you.
Tell the wind
rustling through the trees
or moving among the branches
how much I loved you.
Tell a child
who is young enough to understand.
Tell an animal, or just only look at it
Tell the houses,
tell the town
how I had loved you.

But do not tell any humans
They would not believe you.
They would not believe that
only a man, and only a woman
could have loved one another
as much as I had loved you.

-- Wil G.K. Tjoa