AFTER OCTAVIO PAZ
I was dreaming of many fountains
and many more pools;
I was all alone;
the moon was shining
and the light had conquered
the hedgerows, so they revealed
the secrets of the maze.
Along the edges of this garden
always rose the smoke
of night, creeping along
the trellises like a thief;
a pleasing odor hang in the air,
drifting in the direction
of the moon.
Then, I was up in the balcony,
still dreaming; and now
there were birds (gray swifts,
I was told) building their nests.
I counted a hundred
of them darkening the glass;
I had slipped out the window;
I was looking down at the garden.
It was a quiet place,
and safe within the confines
of our acreage;
I did not think to look too far away
to the forest; I knew it would only
make me nether, uncomfortable.
Soon, the birds flew away
in the direction of the moon
and became obscured
by night. I became sad
like I was being born
or like I was dying. Then
I woke up and learned
I had been awake all along.
What had happened is this:
the birds may have caught me
winking at the enormous moon.
POEM
my cat looks
at birds the way
dickinson
does at words—
out of slant
of her eyes—
metaphors
to mask intentions
R. Torres Pandan was a law school dean for twelve years and has been a practicing lawyer for 20 years. His poems have won him the Carlos Palanca Award and an honorable mention from the Meritage Press Contest. His first book of poetry "Days of Grace: Selected Poems and New, 1984-2002" was shortlisted for the Philippine National Book Awards in 2005.
I was dreaming of many fountains
and many more pools;
I was all alone;
the moon was shining
and the light had conquered
the hedgerows, so they revealed
the secrets of the maze.
Along the edges of this garden
always rose the smoke
of night, creeping along
the trellises like a thief;
a pleasing odor hang in the air,
drifting in the direction
of the moon.
Then, I was up in the balcony,
still dreaming; and now
there were birds (gray swifts,
I was told) building their nests.
I counted a hundred
of them darkening the glass;
I had slipped out the window;
I was looking down at the garden.
It was a quiet place,
and safe within the confines
of our acreage;
I did not think to look too far away
to the forest; I knew it would only
make me nether, uncomfortable.
Soon, the birds flew away
in the direction of the moon
and became obscured
by night. I became sad
like I was being born
or like I was dying. Then
I woke up and learned
I had been awake all along.
What had happened is this:
the birds may have caught me
winking at the enormous moon.
POEM
my cat looks
at birds the way
dickinson
does at words—
out of slant
of her eyes—
metaphors
to mask intentions
R. Torres Pandan was a law school dean for twelve years and has been a practicing lawyer for 20 years. His poems have won him the Carlos Palanca Award and an honorable mention from the Meritage Press Contest. His first book of poetry "Days of Grace: Selected Poems and New, 1984-2002" was shortlisted for the Philippine National Book Awards in 2005.
