Category: Collaboration

Belle Blu

Never have I seen a girl as stunning as she
by the shoreline of the summer Celtic Sea.
Held captive by the golden sun shining in her hair,
I hoped, as she walked, she’d see me standing there.
I wanted to know her name,
such blinding beauty in a blue daisy sundress.
Would she link arms with me for a sean-nós dance?
I was just a boy dreaming of his future bride
when I first laid eyes on Bella Blu,
a girl with whom my heart could hardly wait to entwine.

# This is a collaboration with Bree Leto. Bella Blu is the name of a boat I saw parking at the Marina di Cagliari.

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.

Meet Me in Boston

You used to go anywhere,
hopped on a train,
caught a plane
to be there,
if only in the hope of a chance
to be with your girl.

Nowadays,
you don’t move,
you stay put.
Love has to find a way
to meet you
in your comfort zone.

I bought a ticket
to come as far as I can.
Even with clipped wings,
you have to pack your bag,
meet me in Boston
for an awkward hug,
for a chat over tea.

If you don’t want to stay,
just wait five minutes
to give it another chance,
to give me another reason
not to run away.

*When I can’t write, I ask for help. Benjamin Grossman helped me to write this piece through collaboration. Thank you my friend.

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