You don't deserve the passing cloud to shade your tent
You don't deserve the birds to perch
on the rail of your moon-lit balcony
You don't deserve the girls to answer your greeting
when you pass by them in the hotel bar
In the morning, you hail to the bus
The driver looks the other way
And drives away
Wrapping the wheels with the robes of the street
When you arrive at the luxurious building of your office
And hurry to the half-empty lift
Sarcastic eyes look at you behind the closing door
With no apology
No room for your small body!
In the evening,
When you sit alone in the writers' bar
And as usual, for sometime,
A kind-hearted sadness visits you
Like breeze blowing softly on the trees of your heart
Making leaves grow on the branches
And a new poem is born
Sad feelings overwhelm you
You scribble some words here and there
on the back of the bar bill
And at the end of the night,
The young waiter stares at you in anger
Cursing the poets' foolishness!
When poetry releases you,
You take the MTR back to your home
The door guard hides himself behind a newspaper
Pretending not to see you
When you are alone at home
You fall in the grip of old memories
And longing returns, along with worry
The antique clock peals in the hall
It echoes waves of melancholy in your ears
The star of insomnia wakes in your eyes
When you browse the computer for a part of the night
Letting the rays of its screen entrance you
Tying your hands on its keyboard
You forget your worries, your humiliation,
And your fated sadness
Suddenly, the thief of morning sneaks inside
The army of sleep attacks your eyes
Throwing its shackles on your eyelids
And you sleep, unhappy
Refusing your repeated day
Refusing to walk just like others, with an anesthetic heart
To be lost in the whirlpool of life
Forgetting that you are a poet:
That you are greater than a cloud to shade your tent
That you are greater than the birds to perch
on the rail of your moon-lit balcony
And that you are greater than greeting the pretty girls
when you pass by them in the hotel bar
O sad poet!
If others care about a piece of bread, a sip of water,
And a cup of wine
Your care is how to keep your forehead clear of dirt!
