_____For Jean Donnelly Oh, Jean, it’s okay If you do it beautifully, My name’s rhyme Nothing else should Clarify so simple The pen’s condensation A long draught The ink’s condescension A first draft The end product ___begins logic Who creates I know ______I shall meet— The scholars—and The daffodils— At night the... Continue Reading →
An Excerpt from A Son’s Loyalties – The Park (Chapter Four)
This is an excerpt from a novel I'm working on. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks and have a great weekend. Heads turn when they see Kao’s dark blue car. He parks near two makeshift volleyball courts, where a mixture of Southeast Asians are playing. Most of them are Mien and Hmong and a few... Continue Reading →
If you read one thing today… Time and Again by Breece D’J Pancake
"...I think I am getting too old to do this anymore. I wish I could rest and watch my hogs get old and die. When the last one is close to dying, I will feed him his best meal and leave the gate open. But that will most likely not happen, because I know this... Continue Reading →
Migrant Burden
Migraine headache ___a migrant backache ______from father to son. An American daughter-in-law _____our burden together. Donna wears her emotions on a flushed pale face washed with ivory cream ___what she brings to the table white rice _________mother taught her to wash and steam. Her father and brother wonder why I never finished business... Continue Reading →
If you read one thing today… The Soul of Barbecue is Being Reimagined in Charleston by Danny Chau
"Barbecue is a process of coaxing out secrets; barbecue is a romance. It requires patience and commitment, which over time reveal patterns and rhythms. A brisket will dance for you when it feels like it — and only when it feels like it. Its undulations are a sign that conditions are exactly right. That it’s done. In... Continue Reading →
For an Old Lover
I can see your gaze on the horizon, steady, not like mine as I drive alone glancing at everything ____________________that measures how far I am from home. The number on the trip odometer is a fraction, nominal in the permanent measurement, scant but significant, vital to the equation’s precision, it itself a testament, _________________as... Continue Reading →
City Lights
.....in the city’s perfect emanation of light -Carolyn Forche Traffic light _____spotlights __________the hungry man on the corner _____holding a cup for change. Christmas lights _____bring out his high cheekbones _____ragged pants over thin thighs __________eating into themselves. Red light district _____nonexistent __________in fishnet stockings _____and black leather miniskirt. Street... Continue Reading →
How I Became… A Springsteen Fan
It was the summer of 1998 and I was back home from college. One of my good friends, Phil, was back as well from the Army. This already starts off sounding like a Springsteen song. We had a Marine friend, Ian, who lived up in Sacramento about two hours north of us. Ian said he... Continue Reading →
The Star
This star burns _____so far and invisible __________to our eyes. Her colors masked _____by distance, wavered __________in the journey. Through the lens, _____the mascara’s imprint; __________a Polaroid dried of rainwater.
Summer
Light over darkness, long days, shorter nights, finding myself, my youth in dry daylight, blindly walking but I’m very certain, straying from spring hills to summer mountains. Yosemite’s valley sheltering me; warm rains and serenity in the trees. Searching for fountain of youth, purity; instead, finding a waterfall’s beauty. Nightly campfires under constellations,... Continue Reading →
Mister Saechao 