I stood during the entire journey:
nobody offered me a seat
although I was at least a hundred years older than anyone else on
board,
although the signs of at least three major afflictions
were visible on me:
Pride, Loneliness, and Art.

Translated by Naomi Lazard

* * *

"Please Give This Seat to an Elderly or Disabled Person" by Nina Cassian, translated by Naomi Lazard, from Life Sentence: Selected Poems by Nina Cassian, edited by William Jay Smith. Coypright © 1990 by Nina Cassian. Used by permission of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.