Kiribati is an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
made up of a group of 33 coral atolls and a volcanic island,
(Banaba) according to Wikipedia
I always wanted to write about that island
perhaps a poem titled: Imaginary Voyage to Kiribati
but Kiribati is no longer The Future
since 2011 it’s the last place on the planet
to cross the calendar
after being the first
and what I wanted was to be a day ahead of life
to travel to Kiribati on the day of my death so I wouldn’t die
to be the first to say I love you to a woman on New Year’s Eve
I wanted to travel to the future to find the child I lived in long ago
and to hold on to 24 extra hours to do as I please
like in a bag of marbles
Kiribati suddenly decided to become the past
now I don’t want to go to Kiribati

Translated by Katherine M. Hedeen