Friend

To listen to the story,

to offer a listening ear,

to share the burden in the heart

is a rare value we find in life.

To respect the other

regardless of the standards

and rooting for the other

without a need for evidence

is what I appreciate from a friend.

As I watch the crow’s feet growing deeper

in the eyes of the friend

I once knew from my childhood

I wonder what a blessing it was to have met such person.

12.20.2025

Amore

Perhaps it’s not that you have the capability to do anything that you love;

rather, it’s because you love that you can do anything.

A human can be limited as a mere mortal

yet it’s love that allows for sublimation from constraints.

It’s not what you can get from the other,

but rather what you can give for them.

For their presence in my space is a gift in itself,

nothing can get in the way of your dedication to them.

Let the light grow in this pitch darkness.

12.12.2025

Slow

When your cloth catches a fire,

it’s difficult to stay calm and ponder

whether my buttons are tied in order.

You’re too busy putting out the fire with water.

When the anxiety caught me,

I put on blinders on my sides,

and just ran as fast as I could

without knowing where I am headed.

It was when I could finally stop and relax

allowing myself to melt in the softness of warmth

of those I could trust and rely upon

that I started to see the broken links.

Slowing down, I started to understand

the minute links connecting each other

forming a vast network, pulsing with

diverse colors and brightness of emotions.

So it begins, the brick work to build the foundation

beneath a castle built upon a cloud.

12.11.2025

Mirage

I caught a thread of voice,

one that hides in the shadow,

sneaking in times of chaos,

remaining tense for a moment for an outburst.

Stem of the thread was from the past.

“Don’t smile” the voice said, threateningly.

The hatred, the contempt, and the misplaced anger was what I could sense.

I remember the confusion at the moment,

as an assumption unfortunately started to arise

to inaccurately blame myself.

I want to reach out to the child who holds the stem,

and stand between him and the voice

to protect the child and deter the voice.

I’ll tell the child, “smile as much as you like”.

“Look, all there really is behind

the threatening voice is actually

a tiny mouse, trapped in a cage.”

“You deserve to be loved, respected, and understood.”

“Smile. You are loved.”

12.9.2025

Embarrassment

Honesty feels further from the reach

when shame and guilt weigh down the shoulders.

The whispers and the glimpses of slit eyes

weaves the sticky layers for entrapment.

But honesty is the bitter pill to bite.

To exist itself is hard enough already.

You have tried something.

Fighting the battle itself is already an accomplishment.

If you’ve been true in your heart

of what you wished for under the moonlight,

you will find the way

even in the midst of ashes.

12.9.2025

Story

If we see red lights flashing about

perhaps it’s the time we look back

and hear the stories of those inside

who have been silenced and numbed

set aside out of fear and exhaustion.

As you start to read out their stories,

they will feel heard and validated.

Perhaps then, and only then

we can move forward with clarity.

12.3.2025

Revisiting

Opening the black door,

I walked into fragments of the worlds I remembered.

As I traced my footsteps,

I noticed disconnections between each chapter.

With each fragmentation,

a part of myself was left behind,

along with the relationships I had then.

As I start to travel them back,

I feel heard. I no longer feel alone.

All those places, the weathers, the embraces, and the warmth,

they are with me in my heart.

11.26.2025

Memory

Like a warm and sweet perfume scent,

it keeps my heart warm.

Reminds me of why I started this journey.

It’s too tempting to remain where I was,

but the moon is rising

as the sun falls.

It was like a dream.

One I did not want to wake up from,

but one that eventually called my name

to wake up.

11.19.2025

Living

Perhaps at the back of my mind,

I had slid one foot lingering in the back door

as we philosophized over “to love or to survive”.

Like a reflex against my naïveté,

words escaped my lips quicker their meanings.

After a long darkness stopped by

(long to experience, short to remember)

I returned to speculate:

that it is both the hands of the heart and the mind held together

that leads the dance of this life

peppers in living, with saltiness of surviving.

So, all of this is just to say

thank you for conversing with me that day

in the darkest time of that night

under the moonlight.

11.16.2025