Longing

Fortunately – or unfortunately –

I glimpsed over at the nocturnal green cover

William Matthews’s poetry book.

The flash of lazy summer sky

over the three-story apartment in Brookline

zooming by like a blurry window scene in an Amtrak car.

The sweet warmth – that somehow imbued under my skin

from the hollow cool atmosphere above –

radiated in waves, like softly swinging hammock

with a glass of wine and a love song from radio head.

I blinked. I stared ahead towards what was to come.

Warmth – I chose to believe what I felt in my heart.

The glowing red yolk over the horizon –

graciously engulfing all my worries and sadness –

gloriously radiating, unapologetically, childishly, happily.

my arms are wide open without the usual guard

for I chose to live once more again.

6.24.2024

Heart

a heart that has been through years
of loving, fights, and endured them all
will know when is the right time to move.
we all become a fool in front of an attraction
but a soul that has been through it all
will know what lies ahead.
I pray that I make a wise decision
and proceed with caution.

10.16.2023

Withstand

I start to see that when you endure,
all the challenges will become your strengths.
if you run away,
they will haunt you for the remaining days.
some are very scary.
some are deeply hurtful.
so remember that you are not alone.
you must seek company.
and then endure the hardship.
it may not make sense now,
but it will once you’ve overcome it.

10.12.2023

Keep

even after you’ve done your best
odds may not favor you.
there are those you can control
and those you must admit you cannot control
even as the inevitable befalls onto you,
squirm.
keep squirming. keep your vision. keep rising again.
even if the world falls upon you
even if this may be the end
you’ll know you have done your best.
keep squirming.
inevitably, the odds may favor you one day.

10.8.2023

Love

do I deserve to be loved?
I realized things have changed
and that I am not in mud any more.
but the memory of the dark water
lingers too close in my mind.

do I deserve to be loved?
can I ask to be loved?
can I be free to love?

to find out,
I’ll be a bit more honest,
I’ll work hard,
but not to earn the love,
but to protect those that I love.

9.27.2023