← Poems That Move

Makahiya (The Shy One)*

I lie in the sun 

and slowly open 

one leaf at a time. 

This is when 

you see me, 

in this simple way 

on an ordinary day. 

I soak in your 

light and vapors, 

take in your rich 

words to the deepest 

roots of me far 

into the earth. 

We find a spring 

and share a drink 

there. They think I 

am shy, call me by 

different names. 

Bashful. Sleeping. 

Shrinking. 

I know you see me, 

feel your longing, 

let you touch me. 

The touch of you 

stings my delicate 

leaves and I close. 

The strength of you 

closes me and in 

this closing, I find 

I am ravenous. 

"In this closing, I find I am ravenous."

*'Makahiya' is the Philippine name for a grass that grows there. The word means 'shy' and describes a plant that, once touched, closes. In other parts of the world it is called Humble plant, Shame plant, Sleeping grass, Touch-me-not, and Mori Vivi (West Indies)."Here begins your tarnishing, here begins the birth of your second heart."