Tag: poetry

1.7 Kilograms of Grace

I’ve just found out that Trump wants the UK
to repeal LGBT hate speech bans
before he signs a trade deal. Cue dismay.
I hope the UK will not change their stance.
He’s also deporting and detaining
US-born citizens who are not white.
And his health secretary is making
false claims against autistics. These aren’t right.
Last month, at the airport, my partner’s bag
was overweight. A black woman checked it
in without penalty, attached the tag,
and smiled at me. ‘Twas a gracious permit.
My same-sex partner and I are Asians
thankful for such grace from other humans.

Continue reading “1.7 Kilograms of Grace”

Returning to writing: Italian sonnet

I realize I don’t know how to write
About joy. Of course I’d done it before,
But if wounded, that’s when I bleed words more.
I’d waxed poetic at a lovely sight:
The Northern lights during a five-hour flight
Or turquoise seas with a white powder shore.
But now there’s a new kind that I adore–
A new source of joy, my sun that beams bright.
She has dimples when she smiles, and her strength
Of character amazes me. Her skill
At work impresses me. Her voice disarms
My heart. Can I write about her at length?
A single poem can’t contain what I will
Express, for years to come, about her charms.

Coffee

I don’t want to sleep.
I’d rather make instant caramel coffee
From the box deep inside the cupboard
Impossible to rot
And still gift-wrapped

I don’t want to sleep.
I’d rather drink instant caramel coffee
Sweet and burning on my tongue
And then
I would drink water, rehydrate
Reset, refresh, recall
Remember you
Gifter of the hot and quick

I don’t want to sleep.
I’d rather write to you
No, I’d rather read to you than keep notes on napkins
Folded away because they spill
Small, roasted beans of agony
Bitter like slow-brewing coffee

I don’t want to sleep.
I’d rather tear open the sachets of brown
Powder you gifted when we were friends
I’d rather spread caramel coffee powder
All over the back of your chair
So when you sit and lean
In the same white sweater you wear each day
I’d know I’m ready to boil
More water for instant coffee

Star

I used to make wishes on stars
For summer jobs and summer loves
Every day I’d wake up to a morning sky and sigh
And wonder, will my wishes come true today?

Stars watched over me at night, I knew
But days were just okay
Until you made me see the beauty of the morning
And of the star that rises east
Every day, unfailing

I used to make wishes on stars
For summer jobs and summer loves
Every day I’d wake up to a morning sky
And now I wonder, why don’t I grant my own wishes today?

Stars watch over me at night, I know
And days are your way of teaching me
To see the beauty in just one star
Brighter and closer than the rest
Sun shining every day, unfailing

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