A Longer Poem For A Class Reunion Poem by RIC BASTASA

the latest picture we had
at the beach
in the afternoon of December 30

we have all changed
into old people sort of saying
we have deteriorated

Celina is loose
her tight skin gone
some teeth
except for the protruding
one which makes her
look like a rabbit
is proud as the only
surviving
hard object in her
worn body

Rosario is another story
of failure
her lover left her at the
point where she needed him most
but what can she do
he had also gone old
and had to be back to an
ancestral house where her
accommodating sister lives

Zuric is emaciated
his eyes are like fallen grapes
overripe
rotten but still sour

his arms are weak and sometimes
he does not really listen
to what we are talking

on the other hand i keep this denial
did i not tell you that in my town
only water buffaloes grow old?

it is a matter of happy disposition
wearing a mask in a public place
keeping that smile and activity

but honestly when i arrive in the house
i shed off everything
and all i can do is kneel and pray
that soon all these quibbling about life
will soon be over.

at the beach the sun had began to set
and we marvel at the beauty of its deep red hue
changing to gray as it surrenders and
dissolves in the horizon of dark blue

and the coldness of the
wind and the silence of the night
as i begin to switch on the light in the
wooden cottage

for us to finally see
how an end looks like.