Rose, 1985

40 | World Literature Today Moe Zaw’s first chapbook, The Village of Agony, appeared in 1980. Yet he remained hesitant to get his poems published in magazines during the 1980s. His debut collection, Will, was published in 2007, and Mercenary followed two years later. Moe Zaw would like to think of himself as “a treasurer for the truth, a trustee of death, and the master of his own karma.” Rose, 1985 Moe Zaw 1. At a portly café in New York City If you happen to leaf through this page The poem is dedicated to you, Bold Rose, swelling with petals. 2. I have often taken a pleasurely stroll On your burgundy lips The humid breeze between Your tongue Your teeth How can I forget The scent of grapes it carried? 3. As I combed your drenched hair You laced up my jungle boots. Shall we call it a pre-fated meeting Between water drops of life? Many wrongs have subsequently occurred. 4. We didn’t love Hitler. We loved Shakespeare. We didn’t love Mussolini. We loved Modiglani. We didn’t love Stalin. We loved Yushchenko. 5. Columbus! Mr. Columbus! I couldn’t have predicted her plight How my Rose walked the American plank. 6. My fragrance of Shinmadaung thanaka, Has just hurried From Pazuntaung Yekyaw To North America. 7. Will your itch be relieved In the land of cowboys Riding the world like a horse? Will you be gazing at the image Of a sensitive boy from a whisky glass? What will you be doing During the American holidays? How will we greet one another Whenever we meet? 8. From beneath the tragacanth tree My soul, like the feather of a paddy bird, is marching Toward the native land of the Apaches Toward the Wild West, wherever you are. Translation from the Burmese By ko ko thett & James Byrne ...

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