I want to love you simply in words not spoken:
Tinder to the flame which transforms it to ash
...
I awake on the chair as moonlight falls on my face through a glass roof-tile
did the rain stop long ago?
the newspaper I was reading spreads open
lying on the floor; in the middle of the night it looks so cold and transient
...
A hanging light bulb burns bright in the room. The man
entwines his fingers and their shadows move
on the wall; "That's a deer," he says.
...
a stranger is taking off your clothes layer by layer,
seating you in front of the mirror and tempting you
to ask, "whose body am I wearing right now?"
...
When you were a child you made a paper boat and sailed it
on the river shore; the stream flowed gently, and
your boat swayed its way towards the ocean.
...
for Danarto
/1/
He loves crafting masks. He keeps skinning
his own face over and over again
...
Imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the bird that flies in the cloud-spattered
sky, scattering the wind through its feathers;
...
aku terjaga di kursi ketika cahaya bulan jatuh di wajahku dari genting kaca
adakah hujan sudah reda sejak lama?
masih terbuka koran yang tadi belum selesai kubaca
terjatuh di lantai; di tengah malam itu ia nampak begitu dingin dan fana
...
Sebuah bola lampu menyala tergantung dalam kamar. Lelaki
itu menyusun jari-jarinya dan bayang-bayangnya
tampak bergerak di dinding; "Itu kijang," katanya.
"Hore!" teriak anak-anaknya, "sekarang harimau!"
"Itu harimau." Hore! "Itu gajah, itu babi hutan, itu kera . . ."
Sebuah bola lampu ingin memejamkan dirinya. Ia merasa
berada di tengah hutan. Ia bising mendengar hingar-
bingar kawanan binatang buas itu. Ia tiba-tiba merasa
asing dan tak diperhatikan.
...