come, stay and let's talk. it's a good day to be alive
perhaps now is the time.
I feel pain in the head
and the heart feels rather numb.
I no longer feel the excitement
when I win a match;
only vainglory remains.
but this is a murky ground.
your friends, colleagues, and mentors
holds on to you.
to say no to all of that
and to take a leap
takes a fiery courage
to walk a blazing trail.
let us hold our head high.
let us prevail.
5.8.2023
I held on to the ghost of past for too long
all the grind, sacrifices, and promises
I made them reasons to keep the shells
insulated from ever-changing world
and digging deeper in a juggernaut suit.
but perhaps it’s not too late to try new.
perhaps that’s where the glory comes from.
perhaps it is in letting go it becomes great.
and maybe, all those who sacrificed,
who made the promises
wanted to me to let them go too.
I will remember them
and I will move on.
4.14.2023
being in the “zone”
no one knows how time has gone
a look in the mirror
wrinkles and crow’s feet linger
surely, it’s been a ride through fire
now it’s time for new stage, one higher
let the past go
and dive into the unknown.
1.22.2023
let the world ravage with jealousy
while I am busy loving you
let the world rummage with fear
while I am busy making something new
let the world chase after the inflammatory
while I am busy dancing in rain with you
ah one, two, three and four!
12.7.2022
I am looking for an organic silence;
an active quietness with a purpose
sidestepping from mindless noises
submerging into a zone of focus
it may be a minute difference,
but with a full purpose and focus —
you just wait and see — explosion:
one filled with all kinds of imagination.
고요함 속에
천천한 변화 속에
새로운 세상이
불꽃처럼 등장하길
기도하고 있다.
8.13.2022
when it’s all the talk,
the fuzz, the blahs
thrown about the table
it’s probably the time
to walk out the door,
the formidable door
to the world outside,
and take the walk
a new world opens
new air, new light,
new obstacles, new fight
keeps you on your toes
so get on with your walk
and show ‘em what you’ve got
2.22.2022
it hurts, but it hurts good
‘ain’t all pain no good?’ you might say
but hear me out: sometimes,
just out of nowhere, it strikes you
maybe it wasn’t even born too long ago
maybe it has just tasted it’s first blood
but the way with which it hurts you
you just sit back and kind of laugh at it
wondering how genious all this mess is
how beautiful it can be in its own way
and once you are done marveling at it
you just gotta walk the walk
like all living beings gotta do
rub off the tears off your cheeks
be thankful for the ride, the fight, and the scars.
2.19.2022
At first, it’s too long,
Then later, it’s too short.
Just as you’ve turned your 4th page of your moleskin notebook with a pilot G-2 0.5 pen,
It’s 7:30 PM and now you push the floor away from your chest as hard as you can
Then a question arises: “is an isolation a poison?”
Panic sinks in, four limbs plunging in
To the ocean of screens spinning in
The seconds, minutes, hours, and days
But remember, the time won’t stay.
6.15.2020
Like a droplet of dew
In a dusky dawn of a new day
Licks the cloudy fog off the window
Eyes of my mind drew a yawn
Tears squeezed off of dust particles
Washed away noise of the past.
I stand and stare at the growling sky
Clarity flowing courage in my eyes.
4.11.2019
I need a vacation.
Bitterness in the face of an old glory told
over and over again, renewed
promises of beginnings
I just need to go. Exploding out of this confined space, flaming
every idea with new places. But
an oath had been made under an
Oak tree, far, far long ago.
It’s the reason I must shut
open my eyes in this blizzard of
sharp truths, sameness, and thirst
in spite of
betrayals, disappointments, and accusations.
Remember me not. For I am but one of many struggling souls.
Remember me. For I will arise from this ash.
4.3.2019
Ralph with Coffee 