United States of America
Don’t leave me behind!
A coffee mug sleeve
Sat comfortably on
The opposite subway seat
Its manufacturer had labeled it well
“eco-friendly & recyclable”
But looked like
The coffee drinker’s divine maker
Had forgotten … Read more
Merrick at the Bat
My job is to call balls and strikes …
– Chief Justice John Roberts
The outlook was most sunny for AG Garland’s team
Trump’s legal gambit was on its face … Read more
Still here
Lying in bed
On a hot August night
Listening to the crickets sing
Through the open window.
I feel profoundly relieved
At hearing them again
In our midst
Because as … Read more
Asian Solidarity
(TW: Small mention of blood and violence from a racially motivated hate crime.)
Discrimination
Silenced my mother’s native tongue
Coated with Biluochun tea
Spoons … Read more
The Last Text
We drove with the sunroof open
So the breeze could tangle our hair.
We rolled through stop signs,
We ran reds as the others did,
And we pressed send on … Read more
In New York We Say
In New York, we say
we are safe from these
frivolous wills, bursting
forth with the
overzealousness
of man.
In Idaho, we watch
as they say:
“Let God’s will be—… Read more
City Garden
The community garden where I grow tomatoes,
green peppers, zucchini, and gladiolas.
My little piece of heaven – twelve by twelve
what more could I ask … Read more
CLIMATES CHANGE
Disquiet, dis-ease, deceit
permeate the atmosphere,
suspended
like stale smoke.
Trying to navigate the pollution
of fake facts confounds,
as no fresh breezes appear
to clear the murkiness.
Living in … Read more
Under a Tree
High school sweethearts celebrating
56 years of marriage on a trip to DC.
to find their fate hiding under a tree
Traveling 803 miles from Janesville, WI
to explore the … Read more
O, Cool Water
the quencher of perpetual thirsts,
the extinguisher of sporadic wildfires,
the melter of wicked witches,
why besmirch your goodness
with outbursts that flood unwary towns
in a flash, turn docile … Read more
UVALDE 2022
beloved innocents taken
pour red upon our fragile homes
in morning light spilled with guilt
we fret, we cry, we blame
measure the distance of our fall
a too-late urgency… Read more
Not Completely Satisfied
The dress I ordered arrived today
in teal blue, not aqua. And of course
I know it’s not much of a grievance
beside the bodies pulled
from bombed buildings in … Read more
Freedom, Grade One
The first things Ayden is taught
in school is there are a dozen
desks between his and the door
and the best route to take in a sprint
to the … Read more
Intersection
The mountain blushes at the sight
of freedom showing off its underwear
at the corner of 48th and Elliot
where the campaign signs have recently… Read more