Bonsai of Thought: Ninety-Six

1. From this very solitude...
one must discover oneself
if one wishes to live.

2. I feel and remain alive
even then, when the mind
rises from ruins.

3. In broad daylight
do not keep a mask,
keep your face.

4. Flying on great wings
to reach small places—
can one become a great bird!?

5. I keep thinking, yes thinking,
how to break free!
Suddenly I see—there are no chains at all!

6. If you seek love
without binding your feet in shackles,
then love is what you'll find!

7. To find oneself
one must get lost
somewhere vast!

8. Living simply, by simple paths—
then later, as one grows,
wisdom comes, thirst is quenched.

9. Only one desire—
may I keep soaring high,
in peace and fulfillment.

10. A thousand moments
visible or invisible
come only once, leave completely.

11. Come, let us be separate.
Come, let us be healed.
Come, let us live as life deserves.

12. In the orchestra of silence
within myself... only
I keep searching for you.

13. When your name
plays upon these two lips,
age dies continuously.

14. Prices are rising!
Will wages rise too?
Prices are falling... truly, falling.

15. Some words,
some pauses, some commas,
and others together... this life.

16. A storm is rising...
return my soul
to me.

17. Not in sunlight, beloved;
wrapped in your poetry
make me warm!

18. In truth, not flowers—
it was you I sought.
Seeking and seeking, I found only flowers.

19. I am such a poem,
with words in every breath,
lines in every voice.

20. In all these letters, letter by letter
you are mixed in so deeply,
they have become poetry together.