Category: Collaboration

We Met in the Rain

A new collaboration with Joey – The Fragrance Writer

 

When we were lonely, we met in the rain
We only stood and stared at each other
We shared comfort in misery and pain
And in the raindrops, our tears found cover

Our own silence was louder than the storm
But we found heat in the palms of our hands
You became the jacket to keep me warm
Is this love? My anxiety expands

But you only love me when you’re lonely
You only call me when you are in pain
You no longer call me like you know me
I guess this is the meaning of “betray”

Friend, there’s times and seasons for everything
For both being away and to embrace
The monsoon season gave no covering
When it subsided we both felt out of place

But every time I met your tear-filled gaze
My reflection was nowhere in hiding
My heart sank deep into a hopeless place
I prayed for our friendship never ending

 

Photo by Julius Drost on unsplash.com

Popcorn Romance

I have worked with Joey for another fun one: Joey – The Fragrance Writer

He likes me
He really likes me
He really really likes me!
All clouds in the sky is everything wonderful in paradise
His smile makes Zac Efron’s fake
His eyes are a candy store I am lost in
His humour is the centre of an amusement park
His kisses melt on my lips like pink fairy floss
He makes me feel like buttercups
And butterflies dance in my stomach
As I sip from his cup of cola.
I hope our saga never ends.

Three months bubblegum romance
Bursts forth a rich flavour
artificial sugar induced decay
Leaves exposed nerve toothache
buttercups lead to a stomach ache
Just like butterflies lead to indigestion.
Too much cola – I’m too wired to sleep.
And this tired saga needs a finale. . .

Our short lived romance is like popcorn
Never lasts to the end of the movie before they’ve gone stale
What I first craved is now just a headache.
And I’m ready to go home.
As I leave, I turn and give one last glance.
Hey, you never know when you’ll crave popcorn again.

 

photo from unsplash

Howling Temporal Reality

A collaboration with Samantha and Sonia. You may like to visit their work via Instagram:
Samantha (@wordsthatburnedpoetry)
Sonia (@theshaeira_sonia)

Howling
Winds taking
Down the guards
Off my superficial layers
Insecurities
Tearing out
Bitter longing dreams
I rise from ashes
Temporal
Instant gratification
Consoles your loneliness
In an exhilarating whirlwind
Death

Social Contemplation

A collaboration with Benjamin Grossman

In rainy March
I long for a
philosophical whisper over tea
The smell of possibility permeating
Your gaze an infusion of heaven
Barely we know where we are
Yet we know where we’re going
With some echo of curiosity
On a bed of uncertainty
I inhale your essence
Drink in your presence
Only we temper the inner warmth
Steeped in each other
Rain is threading through each whisper
Tea left unrequited and cold
In the company of drizzling rain

Hearts and Paper Aeroplane

Collaboration with Jonathan Swift Pines

Photo from http://www.unsplash.com

 

No, I’m not claiming that I always write.
When I do, my heart’s like a jar -sealed tight.
And when it pops ajar, you hear it “thump.”

No, I don’t think I always love you right.
When I do, my soul swells like puppy eyes.
When I write, I snort happily for you.

When I’m bad, I’m bad. When I’m good, I’m good.
I’d love to love you right now, if I could.
But if I’m astray, please try tomorrow.

When I’m sad, I write. When I’m loved, I write.
I’d love to store you in my sealed tight jar.
Only let out happiness than sorrow.

Sorry, love, but this is our last “goodnight.”
I’m not always honest in all I write.
So keep your happy times safe and sealed tight.
Don’t let a dreamer like me steal your heart. . .

 

Wordsmith Apprentices

A collaboration with Benjamin Grossman

This daily script interferes
with any royal mood
leaving abstract smiles
upon the observer’s space

Each piece reaches the other
with startling ponder
shaking up their normality
signaling the writer’s psyche
demanding a daily dose of encouragement

The bond sparked small
a distant curiosity sated by the choreography of words
a budding denial received confirmation in plain sight
an uncultivated heart given wings to ascend
an untamed mind flew over the boundary beyond the intellectual elasticity

Moonlit Night

Translation collaboration with Alan Steinle

Moonlit Night is the collaborated translation of a classic Chinese poem (月夜) written by Du Fu 杜甫 (712 – 770), a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. 

月夜 月夜 Moonlit Night
今夜鄜州月 今夜鄜州月 The moon shines brightly on Fuzhou tonight;
閨中衹獨看 闺中只独看 Alone in her room, she looks at the light;
遙憐小兒女 遥怜小儿女 She pities her children, so far from their dad;
未解憶長安 未解忆长安 She misses Chang’an—she’s lonely and sad;
香霧雲鬟濕 香雾云鬟湿 Her long supple hair with perfume is sprayed;
清輝玉臂寒 清辉玉臂寒 The clear moon shines on cool arms of jade;
何時倚虛幌 何时倚虚幌 When, near the curtain, will our hearts soar?
雙照淚痕乾 双照泪痕干 We’ll sit in the moonlight, tears falling no more!