Equilibrium

On a boat in the middle of an endless sea,
love, time, and hunger spend the days.

Sometimes they read to each other 
out of a dog-eared book; mostly

they sing the old chants and rock
back and forth on their heels. 

Bayabas leaf, lagundi, tabako, moringa: 
there's an old medicine for every hurt, 

if only you remember. Hunger wants
the wound to close. Love admires 

its handiwork. Time is faithful 
to each one in its own way.