These simple words which stays the harsh whip’s lash
And bold-faced arrangement which eschews artifice
Are the bare cupboards of a kitchen
Removed of bon-bons and honeyed treats.
These worn walls are my heart
This scrape, a knife-wound from a careless vagrant.
No longer do I spread a sumptuous feast;
I offer nothing but shelter and a worn chair:
A kindness, if only you chose to see it.
Tag: food
Literary Appetite
My favorite thirst is the thirst for words
A turn of phrase as succulent as a peach
An image, silk threads glistening in a tapestry
A story on feathered wings and flight for the mind
To be hungry and to be fed;
There is no greater joy
Degrees of Foresight
An animal happiness
Is a simple one
Of food today
And a subconscious inkling of winter
Gathering and caching
The bounty of fall
But not remembering
The lean scrabbling in frost
Post-Holiday Blues
On a mid-September night
Karaoke drifts from the courtyard
Cantonese ditties and Adele’s Skyfall
The neon pharmacy sign glows
An urban marquee
Grandfathers and grandmothers gather
For an almost impromptu festival
The day before, families sat for mooncake
Today, their absence is more keenly felt
Night Out
Like Mojito green
A laugh of ice in summer
Joie de vivre tingles
Middle Class Politics
The veteran with his hot dog stand
Attracts:
The construction worker
The secretary
The doorman
The postal worker
The college student
While the financial building workers
Huddle at the pita truck across the street
As if to say the white-collar luxury
Of $7 tacos
Immutably divides them
Home Therapy
A shower, hot vegetables, and an open space to sit in
When I can see the sky
It is easier to breathe
Taste of Success
Gluttony, the sweetest greed
When one does not stuff one full
Of candied sweets or artificial no.5
But to rejoice in a homemade dish
That has finally turned out well
For the bad chef happily consumes
The joy of success
Learning
The quickest way to learn is to taste
The bitterness of your failures
But to also find the successes of each one
An ideal piece hidden among the char
Recalling what created that miraculous feat
And finding that it is no accident at all
Sibling’s Birthday
I love you when you complain about work
And slouch on your seat as if you’ll slide right down
How you rib me for burping up Chinese tonight
And Instagram the cupcakes, the cake, and the chocolate
So gleefully, to make you the envy of all your peers
Even though you accepted my card so nonchalantly
When I peer in the tissue paper
I see it has disappeared
Secreted with all your other treasures
RED GLADIOLA 