Bonsai of Thoughts (Translated)

Bonsai of Thoughts: One Hundred Eighty-Four

1. When the dining table demands friendship,
how does one go about dieting?

2. I don't write because I have no time,
and I don't write because I can't write—
the distance between these two
is what reveals the reader.

3. By virtue of position, pretending incompetence
before the wise is the work of the wise.

4. No desire to publish books,
no schemes to catch readers.

5. Our relationship is caught
thorn by thorn on the rose.

6. Terror of fallen leaves,
winter's habitation.

7. The beggar's bag—
surrender? Or curse?

8. How meaningless! How meaningless!
Each afternoon of an unemployed life!

9. Girls standing by the roadside
tuck glittering evenings into their hair.

10. What is he so angry about,
whose whole body bears only the marks of failure?

11. The moon sets—
at whose will?
The defeated lover's?
Or the victorious beloved's?

12. Whatever time I have
only runs out;
yet I never learn
where it's headed.

13. My failure is like your nipples—
the more I try to hide it,
the more clearly it stands out.

14. Each time I come to you,
I return that many times to the world.

15. Fear hangs
in the world's eyes.
The moment they close,
war will break out.

16. The moment I emerge from your body,
I see the world's color is black.

17. Some have small desires clinging to their bodies,
others have great regrets clinging to theirs.
The first group is happier.

18. Your relentless love
has taught me to flee.

19. In the folds of your thinning hair
my exes' curses are clear.

20. You want only me—
what more can I give you?
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