leather goggles. red bandana.

wings on wind, you tell me

love is like landing a plane.

wheels on world, never

slowing down. divine.

maybe, but our love,

your skin on mine

burns. say pilot,

pronounce it

kamikaze.

I remember a summer of
light and happiness
of rain and sadness
of slowly dissipating madness

laughter light as a cloud
voice soft as silk

something like guilt
in those eyes

saying sorry
telling me it’s okay
making me think of you
everyday

but it’s okay
because I remember

a summer of
crying and drying
my tears

so that I could
be better
a tether
to happier days

a story told
between you and me

a song of the
brokenhearted
will of steel

oxidizing
rusting with time

fading
only a memory
but it’s still there
poking prodding

marauding
this heart of mine

Here I am

Just a young man

Never looked in a mirror

Never knew who I really was.

I would walk down the streets

Get to see some people

Try shaking hands

But no touch felt

But something was strange

Most faces I saw

Not all that different

Same color

Same race

Same attitude.

I fly through walls

Into the outskirts

I see people

Different people

With different color

Different race

Different attitude

Some working hard

Some giving up

Some getting whipped

It was all

Too much for my eyes

Enough to send me flying

To the state of Tennessee

Where I see a man

A man giving a speech

With people gathered

Some inspired

Some disgusted

Some who are both inspired and disgusted

The man giving the speech

Seemed to have been

Repeating two words

At the beginning of a sentence

The man looked interesting

I followed him

Followed him a whole five years

Till he was struck

By a stranger

With a gun

He bled

Bled till his death

Put in a coffin

Buried

And

Rested

In

Peace

Like

Me.

If I listen

I can hear the fan whirling

If I listen

I can hear the birds chirping

If I listen

I can hear the sadness in the air

If I listen

I can hear that life isn’t fair

If I listen

I can hear the life all around me

If I listen

I can hear the words within me

don’t text first,

don’t text last,

don’t get left on read,

and don’t leave others on read.

stop capitalizing “i” because

you’re not that important.

stop going after the quiet ones

and thinking you are the one

who can get them to open up,

because you can, they will,

but wikipedia says out of three tons

only three or four oysters will

produce perfect pearls

and sometimes you should listen to the odds.

odd one out is often self-prescribed and you should

run far, far away from those who think

they’re quirky enough to use it.

don’t cry over friends who don’t love you

as much as you love them

because you knew they wouldn’t,

don’t tell people you cried over them

because no one likes a guilt trip

and it’s not like things will change.

not everything is

black and white

some are mother-of-pearl,

a silver lining.

actually listen to everyone telling you

you deserve better.

simply agreeing is not enough.

stop being all talk,

start being actions,

measurable and memorable.

keep the promises you make to yourself

because you know the shouldn’ts

and the mustn'ts better than anyone:

you aren’t dumb and everyone knows it,

so stop saying it.

it’s okay to spend some time

in your shell.

you’ve hardened for a reason,

to keep the tender skin inside

safe from incisive beaks.

smile with teeth and

be all bite and no bark.

and if nothing else, for the love of God,

stop scrabbling at oysters

and trying to fit your fingers in the seams.

stop picking the empty shells to pry open.

you will break a nail,

or slice a finger on a

deceptively smooth edge

and watch red bloom

into cloudy waters.

Leaves swirling all around me

The scent of apples crisp in the air

The world around me starts to change

To shades of orange, yellow, and red

I feel a cool breeze brush my face

It twists the trees then quickly leaves

I see the apple blossoms turn to fruit

The warmth of summer cascades away

And I am left with the chilly breeze

Of Autumn’s warm glow

Diversity is a curse.

And failure to revel in the opaque vowels of the lettered white-man

is a sin worthy of excommunication.

Why introduce knotted tongues to the purity of a neatly-woven America?

I have assiduously re-programmed myself

to regard my tongue as nothing less than “American”—

prideful of having sloughed my tongue of its Asian snake-skin,

no longer labeled as a “migrant” worth shunning

by the clunky inflections that arrest her foreign tongue.

Yet my mother sits at her vanity with a glass of wine,

laboriously mouthing an ill-fitting language in the mirror,

her tongue clumsily dancing a tango, not knowing that America

is a waltz.

And though my mother’s American label reads “alien,” “intruder,” “displaced,”

I feel my own tongue paralyzed by an unexpected shame,

for despite my efforts I have found,

that as unnatural and alien as is my mother’s tongue,

that in escaping the foreigner’s label,

I am a different kind of refugee,

One adrift from her own identity.

Delicate, rigid, wispy-thin
The soul stood everlasting
Caressed by memories
Enfolded by emotion.
Sadness. It harpooned into the soul
Shattering it into glassy shards
Empty. It's what she felt
when the harpoon wouldn't budge
Broken. It's what she felt
when she decided to mend and persevere
Pain. It's what she felt
when the shards pierced her fingers
Desperate. It's what she felt
when putting the pieces together reopened wounds
Relief. It's what she felt
when she finished putting herself all together
Wonder. It's what she felt
when she saw what her soul had become
Alive. It's what she felt
when she saw what the pieces created
Enlightened. It's what she felt
when she gazed at the beautiful carvings
Awe. It's what she felt
when she looked at herself, her soul, her emotions
Brightened. It's what she felt
When she realized she wasn't the same being
Anew. It's what she had become
Her soul infinitely changed
Strong, hopeful, everlasting.

The car ride to my house is silent 

Save for the soft hum of the radio 

I feel your presence beside me 

But I decided I couldn't have you long ago 

It comes with too many issues 

Where conflict still lies unresolved 

It’s him who first fell hard for you 

And I swore I wouldn’t get involved 

But the thought crosses my mind that he’d never know 

We're all alone in the dark of the night 

And my heart beats too loud in my ears to think 

Of anything but how you’re smiling so bright 

I wasn’t expecting you to take my hand 

It's cold and clammy intertwined with mine  

But it sends fire through my entirety 

And I think maybe it’s not asinine 

I'm not a fool for wanting this 

Or for my heart skipping a beat 

But I feel foolish and naïve 

As it leaves me frozen in my seat 

Still, you bring me back to reality 

When you give my hand a squeeze 

I reciprocate the pressure 

Which puts us both at ease 

We still don’t meet each other's eyes 

Too scared of that confrontation 

And the silence gives us enough room to breathe 

But not enough for conversation 

It feels too long before we’re at my house 

And we start to say our goodbyes 

We share an embrace before you go 

And that’s the moment we finally lock eyes 

Thus begins our secret rendezvous 

We continue our romance in quiet 

Both afraid of getting caught 

Scared of his admiring gaze catching me beside you 

But every time you smile at me I know it’s not all for naught 

You smile at me gently when no one’s looking 

And take my hand when we’re hidden in the dark 

Each moment with you feels like heaven 

With each touch there is this spark 

That was six months ago 

Today we live like strangers 

And it’s him not you my sorrows now 

It took him a long to time to forgive me when he caught us 

But when you left, we grew back together somehow 

I must admit you had me there in the beginning 

Your soft smiles and gentle eyes had me fooled 

But I see it now that it was all a trick 

Though I know you weren’t trying to be cruel 

I just read it all wrong 

I was blinded by first love 

I put you on a pedestal 

And held you high above 

You never asked to be up there 

Or to have my heart 

But, still, I let you have and break it 

Right at the very start 

His comfort is a double-edged sword 

He tries to hate you for me, but lust still shows itself 

Still, I understand why he continues to long for you 

As I still do myself 

So, like I said, we live like strangers 

And I'm left empty while you seem fine 

But if you’re ever willing to give me your heart 

I'll still let you reclaim mine 

We were there, Oh! We were there

Energy boosted, all sources of weariness gone,

We were in front of the magnificent beauty, and I was suddenly not at all moody

It was so huge, so large, so enticing to see, for it was a wonder to be

So intriguing the structure, it looked so beautiful, eye-catching, a wonder!

The tickets were bought, the artistry was sought

But wait! That was only the start

What I saw inside was the most engaging

For there was a passage of water with fountains, there were no mountains,

But still trees lined around with thousands of birds,

And the reflection of the structure so cool and clear,

As I got closer, the intricacy of the formation became bolder,

It was an awe-inspiring scene,

The marble so white, gleaming as the sun shone bright

Its color so pure, made it a worthy tour

Something so captivating, a scene never to be forgotten

Shah Jahan made it for his wife, it became his most prized possession for life

I will never forget this scene for the rest of my life

For it was something not describable by words,

A beauty beyond imagination, that I hope keeps a lasting impression

on all future generations