A Wild Passion [rev.] Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Fulfilled my one-time vision of sitting in
a fixed position quietly all day long, only
getting up to stand at my desk while still
typing - and reading, not going outside -
not spending a cent, just translating and
checking expression and term in similar
documents using the right jargon on the
Internet - & working with double vision

Doing it even when our local diva Mimi
goes into a higher register of noise and
just blows off the roof with exclamations
talking to her kids; I insert borrowed ear
phones which should have been buried
ages ago, the distortion's so large but I
up the volume, continue working on my
fragile country - feels as if I'm handling

Precious orchids to be damaged by the
slightest lapse in concentration; I wish
those old public servants in the Congo
may earn a pension, retire after age 75,
I wish Africa could learn the secret of
affluence without destroying the country;
I love the African continent with a wild
passion that knows no end…

[12 November 2014]


[ORIGINAL: ]

Fulfilling my one-time vision of sitting quietly all day long
in one position - only getting up to stand at my desk while
still typing and reading, not going outside - not spending a
cent, just doing a translation and checking every expression
and term in similar documents using the right jargon on the
Internet, working even with double vision, continuing even

When Mimi our local diva goes into a higher register of noise
and just blows off the roof with her exclamations talking to
her kids, I just use borrowed ear phones which should have
been buried ages ago, the distortion's so large but I turn up
the volume and continue working on my fragile country -
feels as if I'm handling a precious orchid that might be

Damaged by the slightest lapse in concentration; I wish those
old public servants in the Congo may earn a pension to retire
after age 75, I wish Africa could learn the secret of affluence
without destroying their country; I love the African continent
with a wild passion that knows no end…

[11 November 2014]