Lưu Diệu Vân

Catastrophe strikes at one A.M.
F sharp forms a split chord
sleep conjoins anguish
regrets burrow in twisted beddings
the clinic opens at 9 AM sharp
undoubtedly
a damned destiny
a well-calculated probability
the ovaries
desperate to escape
the pandemonium attack
inducementfrom the outside world
disgorges inside
exhausted sperms
lethargic toward the end
an anti-climactic finale
doesn’t guarantee a victor
in the tearing darkness
you couldn’t have seen my blood trickles
from its crimson membrane
voiceless
infertile
sobs
daylight has yet to awaken
but the night-dews are depleted

the emergency pill
effectiveness of a mere forty eight hours
too much time is left
to baby-walk indecision

{from Poems of Lưu Diệu Vân, Lưu Mêlan, Nhã Thuyên, Vagabond Press, 2013}

{artwork: Quan Steele}