Category: Collaboration

思念 （Longing）

很想把阴毛碾成灰
如有脱落的牙齿一齐寄去
彼岸的思念并不遥远却漫长
走着走着只剩自己与影子
人老珠黄的期盼
何日君为郎
莫慌莫慌
送上一叠 褶子
朦胧双眼与余下银发

I long to grind my pubic hair to ash
and send it along with any fallen teeth.
The longing from the other shore is not far, yet it feels endless.
Along this long walk, only my shadow remains.
Like a pearl that has lost its luster,
the waiting is long-suffering.
When will you return to me?
Be patient!
For now, I send you a stack of wrinkles,
my blurry eyes, and the remaining silver in my hair.

*The Chinese version was written by Jun.

Time-traveling Lovers

The old clock
hung meaningless
on the limestone wall of separate dimensions,
the mantel of time-traveling lovers.

An artificial fireplace burning
with blue tongue and amber arms
tangled between the Boston snowstorm
and the Gold Coast heatwave.

Synced are their pace
and the speed of their heartbeats.

It’s not by accident
that he’s learned to
wake when she wakes
and sleep when she sleeps
even half a globe away.

Time became irrelevant.
His circadian rhythm
has shifted towards hers.

*Another collaboration with Benjamin Grossman. Thank you my friend!

FORGIVENESS

You were too young to know
the treasure of a child.
Bloated burden, unflattering.
Days of the velvet liquid,
murmurs between skins,
even the aroma of coffee
died abruptly.
Feeling unloved and ugly
is an unwanted sword,
like the seed in your womb
severing the sacred attachment.

I held on to the fragments of you
that were beautiful.
Because of your absence,
I learned to love books,
and when I wrote
I thought of the mystery of you.
Imagination attached me to you again.
Any missing pieces in me,
I filled with you.

As a full-grown woman,
I finally got to know you.
You were defeated, having lost the lushness of life.
The ugliness of your sin ripped me apart
like childbirth all over again.
Isn’t it ironic that
now you have shown up in my life again?
You are almost too much in my face,
causing me to lose balance.
I stumbled
in the tangled thickets of a prodigal mother.

I’d never know why you walked out on me.
It’s not something I need to know anymore.
Ma, I forgive you, your cruelty, selfishness, and entitlement.
I have peace knowing you are incapable of love.
They are your demons, not mine to slay.

Entitlement

A recent collaboration with Benjamin Grossman.

Submissions open UNHOUSED Yearning for Home

Subject on migration, asylum-seeking, illegal-and-legal-immigration, homelessness, and a verge of homelessness.

Calling for submissions of poetry, flash writing, cover art

Lived experience or observation

Submit here or scan QR code below.

Origami Souls

A collaborative effort of me and Benjamin Grossman.

The bountiful lilac purple wisterias curtain our bedroom window
The humidity of summer and the sound of cicadas wake us

My breasts swell in the cup of your hands
The curve of my body lazily responding to your offering

There is only one line you fit between
Fold me into origami with nothing but your tongue

Our bodies contort into a paper crane
Loving for 1000 years till we turn grey
Our souls take flight through the lilac purple haze into the flush blue eternity.

Salt Lines

(A Collab with Bree)

The train tracks line the destination to a constrained world 
where girls in the workplace forever speak of Prince Charming 
On the platform, the cross of reality and illusion 
she sits in the cold with The Price of Salt on her lap
Her curls fall casually teasing her cherry lips
My world explodes like the stars in the Milky Way
I wonder if 
her soft lips could melt my anxious desire into strawberry kisses
I picture her elegant fingers bringing fireworks in all my secret places

She raises her brown eyes across the tracks
enchanting smile lighting up the air between us
Trains rattle 
daring to disturb the line between us
Before she disappears from view 
Her lips mouth words I can already taste on my tongue… 
‘Find me’
and with a flash of steel and glass
I am undone

Death to Life

WordPress for its frustrating format updates, website glitches, but when it comes to a sense of community and support, I am here to stay.

When I was uninspired and nibs-dry, Benjamin and Bree worked their creative magic to collaborate with me. Here is the poem we wrote together. Bree produced the audio. I hope you enjoy this little piece of reading words and friendship, more importantly, remember to reach out to each other if you need a little inspiration and TLC. 🌻💚

Reading of “Death to Life” by the creative trio.


Is there any life inside this brittle heart of mine
I am cracked to the core
All my light has leaked out
I cry out for nourishment
Someone to restore

A desert flower thirsting for rain
A deadwood feeling lost in a spring forest
The craving for life intensifies
In a world of splendid landscape

On my shoulders I carry the weight of suffering
Oceans of sadness and mountains of pain
A gazillion negatives that lead to unnamed anxieties
Pure darkness seemingly the only respite

And yet
Sunrise delivers a new day
Rain brings forth tiny sprouts
New life stirs within me
Signalling the promise of growth
I reach out to the light of life
Pushing onwards towards hope

It Is What It Is

Writing with Little Charmer was very effortless, I feel we write in each other’s space and it blends. I hope you feel that way too when reading it.

From what happened
Between us last night
I have a feeling
This has potential

I even contemplate
to stay for breakfast
skip work
and love on you more
But after my first cigarette
I realised
for our art to be perfect
I must play the escape artist
once more

You see I cannot give you
What you want
Unless we can agree
To take it slow
I may not be sure
Of many things
But my fear of love
I know

If that’s not enough for you
We’d better call it quits
Not everything has a happy ending
Life can be a hit and miss

Sweet Nothings

Please don’t say
You love me
If you expect
To hear it back

So many times
I heard those
lovey dovey words
They meant nothing
in the end

I hope you could tell by the style of the writing that this is another collaboration between me and Little Charmer.