The son becomes the father _____when the father passes Your obligation becomes your life We replace the old __hardwood living room _____with thick gray carpet It's not an accident if you allow it Katie's waist thins over time stretches mark the months _____Billy depended on her Make sure to caress them __when you bathe Mother... Continue Reading →
Mount Corcoran
Mount Corcoran -Albert Bierstadt, 1877 The black bear waits ____________to kiss the water's edge Under fallen trees ____________the trout nap together and the waterfall ____________hums almost unnoticed. Just a "mountain lake" ______before the water dried: From a hidden source ______the artificial light shines on the sides of white-capped triangles. Under the clouds, poor Al renamed... Continue Reading →
The Next Day
This is an old poem I wrote about fathers and sons, relationships, love and being an immigrant. I think I wrote it a half dozen or so years after my father passed and maybe a year or two after I broke up with a woman who I thought I was going to marry. I think... Continue Reading →
Elegy on an Asian American Wok
Have the chef bring me something not on the menu. I tire of General Tso's or Tao's or Tsao's chicken; why cubed white meat, when I like sinew? I don't want my sauces blander, thicker nor sweeter. I want the Szechuan chicken (no carrots nor bell peppers) and extra white rice. No, no. I'm not... Continue Reading →
Wanderers
Looking for a place to settle my Father walked me ___between the tracks leading to the next town, our town with a different name, familiar enough. Trains push air under dust, it is so dry, our breathing, like eating dirt from the earth. It’s a drought, he says, not looking at me. Our destination ___is... Continue Reading →
Fortune Cookies
My father speaks before the family at the dinner table. __[My mother provides the translations.] Upon birth I cried, coming out headfirst. “Happy days are just over the mountaintop. ____The struggle has ended.” She brings countless plates; __frisbees with food for my American friends. He eyes them and grins. (Chew. Don’t choke. ____Moderation is key.)... Continue Reading →
Mister Saechao 