loving you frightens me, you see,
not because I might fear death,
decay, damp earth, nor
long separations, you do not feel enough

you are all too quick to strike a new wound, utter
a mindless word, tear down everything
in your sight, you take like a hurricane,
alien, and cold as life

I'm afraid that as I walk through the city
I'll fall down, vanish into
nothingness, crushed by your force,

afraid the river will overflow, the sun
will fall, my head explode, dreams
will die, fear is larger, like the world.

Translation: 2002, Mia Dintinjana and Phillis Levin