Nothing

when you have built a castle on top of a cloud
shake it all down, let them fall crashing down
once you are done crying over them
build them back up
one by one
forget about the worries
forget about the fears
focus on each brick
then one day,
you’ll see you castle again
founded on a firm ground
and you will find happiness
and contentment for yourself.

3.24.2023

Laugh

I am not sure what happened
I saw events brewing from afar
roiling waters of sadness
I braved myself for the impact

then I found the world to be funny
I laughed at the face of a lion
and joked about how sharp its fangs are
when it was time to close the shop
I found my spirit to be resilient
and I was okay.

and I wondered.
if it is the grieving of the past
that gave me the strength.

K3.23.2023

Curiosity

early morning, I read a note by an erudite:
“curiosity is the key.”
it sparked a notion I deliberately obscured.
curiosity is unforgiving, yet a graceful path
it has taken many and then given me much
perhaps life is too short for it.
yet, it dances in the universe to make life alive.
I am convinced for now,
it is a way of life worth living.

3.16.2023

Name

it was one of the endless hot summer days
I rode my bike uphill back home from the office
red fire hydrants sprayed sprinkles of water
onto glistening black asphalt road
I stopped by a grocery shop run by immigrants
that had no AC on and smelled
spices, meat, and exotic vegetables
when I stood by cashier to pay
the elderly man bagging my grocery
stared at me with sun-baked wrinkled face
and slowly called out my name
at first, I couldn’t understand him.
he pointed at my name tag hung around my neck
and from consonant to vowels
slowly read my name
and stared into my eye
perhaps this was a rite of passage
or a reckoning of a soul
from another
who knows the price of life.

3.14.2023