City of Writers: A Weekly Newsletter
I won't let you in, I'll fight you to the endToo close, I can no longer be your friendLove ends, where hate beginsYou are which of the seven holy sins?Hold you down, surrender to meMission to the black hole of a distant galaxyYou make me strong, can no longer denyThe…
Fruitful and productiveTired and antisocialEmotions that define my life I have seen wonderful thingsCelebrate milestones with loved onesI am a true gastronomeYet I feel alone in a crowded room It is time to stop dwelling on the negativityAnd let the sunshine inIt is time to believe all the storied words…
Things that are full of musicCascade like a waterfallDown the coin slotChirping in acceptance,once, twice, three times luck be a lady. They call me the One-Armed BanditThe meadow in the Wild WestWords and music under the gunOf the tiger's sun. The Ballad of Michael ValentineCould be a country song,but isn'tTelling…
The battlefield in my headis littered with the loversI'll never bed, let alone wedSee me ride the light of loveTo a place inside his heartFalling below the mists, undertowSinging the praises of an unknown soldier,Broken apart by the promise of releaseFight with me, beside me, inside meBehind me, roller-coaster ride…
We practiced our haibun in my grad school poetry class. This was my result. The tsinelas on my feet do not protect me from the grains of sand. My mother's pale skin is a gentle reminder for me to protect my face from the sun, so I don't get tan…
Where are you from, a person is often asked.Where indeed? I have no answer. My eyes are slanted, but I'm not Oriental.I'm not a rug, don't tread on me.My jeans are Levi's, but I'm not a stadium.Don't play games with me.My feet are blistered, but I don't wear high heels.I…
In response to Lâm Thị Mỹ Dạ's Bomb Crater Sky. Dad served two tours in the war,a media circus of Ohio hippies andescapes from Saigon via helicopterLit by the fireworks on the nightly news,gilded in the blood of the conscripts,photographed by Leica. Building roads as a Seabee,cleaning the mud caked…
Surviving is a verbLiving is tooBreathing, smelling, touchingWords that imply movementI've not stopped movingSince yesterdayWhenever that was. Wish I could stop timeThe rat raceAgingDeathSexTaxes Memento mori, Latin'Remember you will die'Keep that hubris in checkWe're all born to dieA monied deathIf you didn't buy it,you're the product. Can't stop, won't stopWe…
One of our in-class poetry prompts was to take a translated poem and translate it in our own way. I chose Salma Khadra Jayyusi's A Tale. I have no father-in-lawI'm sure he existsHe sleeps, fucks my mother-in-law(Hopefully she's a nice lady and will treat me well)He showers, and is a…
You buy clothes you never wearTo impress people who don't careYou can't speak in front of crowdsYou should get your head checkedYou have blisters on your heelsFrom shoes that refuse to be broken inYou wear makeup to even out your tanCertainly not to impress a manYour mirror reflection of selfDoesn't…