By Dina Oktaviani

i try to write something

and pray for you

so that you can forgive me

from afar

 

in my head was a pile of songs

which will tie myself up

to your shadows

 

i look at the landscape through the window

calling for your breath

which i have known perfectly

but has no longer been touching my nose

 

the monsoon agony grows

when the kettle in the kitchen

stops whistling

and my little boy is sleeping in his room

sucking his two fingers

 

i try to dream about

your warm cheeks

to erase

the anguish of the sins in my lips

 

–your lips i adore

are they still sweet and moist

tonight?

 

inside, i know

are the words

inside is the core of my tears

 

but still i miss you

like a terrifying journey

of a train from town to town

which i could never stop

 

i try to write something

and pray for you

so that you can forgive

your love for me

 

but all the words

and beliefs

ran away from my solitude

 

–why should one’s head be above the heart

that my frail breasts

can not touch your ears

without lowering your face?

 

tonight

hunger breaks my heart

the poverty of my heart

hurts my stomach

 

there is no one outside myself

apart from the people i love

apart from the people who have been weaning themselves

off me