pinning hope on the uncontrollable — and i name you Beautiful conferring all i don't know i have all i ever want in one wish. i vow never to raise you the way my mother did the chip comes off the tree trunk in free reel a mother cannot control. my mother couldn’t. neither can i …

“Descendants of Dragons and Snakes” & “The Story of the Braid” —

The needle — She saw through bodies passing phases of aided beauty She knows their belly bulges their knee dimples their side boobs wandering She saw them through razor dresses seducing targets suits to kill clients wedding night specials depression-wear pants before maternity-wear pants after maternity-wear tired gowns once resplendent aged work tops begging a second lease…

The role terroir plays — floop~floop~floop~ riveting chopsticks ribbon magic my heart beats faster where does he lead me all of a sudden curtains rise the noodle wings a pool arises rolling silky taste buds ready of genie bottle out one continuous~~ bathes in glorious land aromas~~ floop~floop~floop~ peanuts sprouts crunchy~~scallions chilies fragrant~~ Uncle Chen Baobao’s…

old crap renewed rant — What's wrong with Americans clutching personal vehicles rumbling in tattered space at ancient pace Parking snug to storefront while grumbling about fat bellies sitting Don't you see the world’s future cities Craze for clean efficient modes of moving you through air with fellow humans’ equal existence No need bragging of your outmoded transport the car And we say…

One year in Saigon — Updated with notes. August 1, 2023 in coffee water his sinewy legs drowned groin deep to hail me that personal vehicle in a flash flood it’s nothing sure he’s been through worse it’s nothing just his job i shuddered at what inhabited the coffee water keeping the city under it’s…

Summer folly — wloop wloop wloop glop glop shlop if i were to taste heaven it’d be neither sweet nor deaden conglomerate of tongues rouses in bliss ~~ wloop wloop wloop umami explosion naughty spices mustard scarlet summer green pearl black balsamic honey brown oh forest soirée pool of ecstasy ~~ in gloam…

The outwardly unexceptional — spleen liver stomach spilled intestines writhed not in the butcher’s market on dirt road open faced one could cook these organs under the sandy scorching sun but these have names of soldiers and civilians too slow to run too wounded to crawl too young to know too strong to hide they fed on petals bulbs leaves vines roots…

Artist Yee I-Lann. Embracing the unknown — View image here If ever we survived this blasted pandemic we said we would hug humanity anew We wept We swore We accepted We waited Now survival is here do we erase hate do we treasure the person more 3 years As if nothing happened As if nothing learned Do we create…