poetry pâtisserie

[ dos ]

2011-04-03T03:08:00.000-07:00

tonight

tonight is like every other night
he does the wrong but feels alright
buffalo bill and city lights
got nothin' on his dynamite

tonight is las vegas heat
but it's freezing underneath these sheets
and the wolf's howl outside sounds so bittersweet
lonely { empty } _incomplete

tonight he'll wait, there's someone out there
all cigarette smoke and dirty swears
he'll lace his fingers in tangled hair
hoping to be stuck right there

feeling richer than a billionaire

[ uno ]

2011-01-16T22:13:00.002-08:00

circus

the fire-breathers are funny today
spitting flames at me, laughing at the
hilarious glowing shame on my face

a gymnast-punk with neon facepaint
cries mocking tears of pink as his
tongue waggles like his tightrope

the lions, the elephants, oh even the monkeys
are cackling at me in my silver tights
i'm just made of bubblegum and cotton candy

nothing but one of the sideshow freaks
like the Blue-Man of Austria, or China or
like that circus pony missing its front legs

Twelve.

2011-01-07T18:32:00.001-08:00

Obsession

I'm sorry

It tastes like sin; the coconut and the cream
The strawberry cigarette between full lips
The silent glitter screaming underneath your lashes
Are frozen fingertips sweeping across perfect cheekbones.

I only wanted to hold you once

Why are you so stiff -
Like a gramophone that's tripped on a needle
And bleeding with red static.
Won't you call me "dear,"

Just once?

Your eyes were lost somewhere in that rose-petal bath-water.
But it's okay, I love it when you look at me like this
As the clock's arms spin faster and faster
You're here, you're mine, it's just us

But my nightmares won't stop dripping

So won't you smile? You look prettier when you smile
I don't know what to do if you close your eyes so quietly
But you're here, just you, you're here, with me
Don't run, don't go home

Baby goodnight

Eleven.

2010-12-05T23:23:00.000-08:00

A song

I wonder if you know
this song is for you.

Maybe then, for the first time,
you will listen.

Can you see through shadows?
Because that is how I want
you to see, searching and desperate for an answer
because you always think
it's so easy.

I want you to feel through shadows, and maybe then
you will survive. So that you might
look closely, more carefully, and maybe
you'll find life in a shadow, hear tears in a song, find yourself

hard and alive
and blinding, and maybe
for the first time

you will see.

Ten.

2010-11-10T02:24:00.000-08:00

Somebody

the lollipop kids
are loud music loud glow-sticks
silently hoping

Nine.

2010-11-01T21:59:00.003-07:00

It Hurts

go on and toss away the tears, she says
shake off the extra raindrops
from your umbrella.

it doesn't matter. (she is) just trembling lips
that drip with ice, a
head of hair (damaged).

but the autumn leaves keep sticking
catching in the tangles, the frizz
like grey-fuzz upon an ailing cheek.

can you smell the burnt sky? she wonders
there's a candle that smokes,
too close to her tears

(she can't recognize) the birthday cake
set on the table that silently mourns (him)
with melted wax that's not there (anymore).

Eight.

2010-10-02T22:57:00.000-07:00

Sleeping

The music is sleepy, rocking the babies behind me
to sleep. I hear their breathing
soft and even,
smile and
turn off the music

because this is the music I want to remember
with the trills of friendship I've never played,
the closeness of people I thought I'd forget,
now people, I know, are attached by the wrist,
the yarn strung over America

eighty four times.

My heart is smiling, heavy and happy and already knowing I'll miss
the light from the window that glows on their cheeks.
They're curled up, unconsciously fighting for the blanket,
as I squeeze into what little room is left, find my head a corner of the pillow
and we probably look ridiculous, jammed against each other,
hair in each other's faces and arms at unnatural angles
our legs hanging off the bed,
one that was clearly not made for three people
but should have been.

It's a memory that is tucked in the folds of the comforter
I left there
in the neon green sheets
I left there
in the comfort
I left there
in the long nights, watching sappy movies
I left there
in the good-night hugs
I left there
in the midnight pizza
I left there
in the walks to the beach
I left there
in the 5 a.m. tears
I left
in her loose purple sweater sleeve
and her white cotton T-shirt

there,

a sisterhood that tugs at my heart
as I pull up my comforter, alone in my room,
in the silence of an Irvine night

here

and I wish for some music.

Seven.

2010-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Nostalgia

take my hand and down a
sentimental macchiato with me;
so we'll be awake when we're asleep
to jump on the carousel
that never ends, these
whirlwinds of color, these
illustrations we'll see, these
watercolors the soul
makes that are memories.

or are they? with time, the lines
blur.

splashes of red are soft fireworks; yes, they were there;
maybe you were, too.

cool blue sprinkles are buzzing streetlights; yes, that night passed too quickly;
and maybe you left too quickly, too.

waves of green are tall, tall grass; yes, they were like long curls of kelp in the sea that never fade;
and maybe you're still waiting;

maybe the soul doesn't watercolor;
if you're still there --

maybe the soul paints.

Six.

2010-07-25T23:42:00.000-07:00

Untitled

one thermos of green tea later
i'm reading between telephone lines
& nothing's there.

like space between fingers
doesn't need to be filled with a hand
like whispers can be whispers
just -- air.

i'm tired of searching
for patterns in the cries of ravens
just splatters of black paint
across a light grey sky
just -- tears.

Five.

2010-06-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

Waste

the smell of yellow bamboo curls up into late afternoon
a golden smile damp with the breath of a warm shower
and eyelids hug pupils.

the end of a day -
a purple bruise in the middle of white carpet
i placed a clear mat placed over the blemish
useless and nothing more.

Four.

2010-05-05T01:39:00.001-07:00

Hope

Balancing on one hope, like floating in air.

One day, the bubble is bound to burst.

And so shatter
those far-reaching dreams

Three.

2010-03-24T17:14:00.000-07:00

So, How Are You Doing?

So, how are you doing?
Please say fine. It's easy from there.
And all you gotta do to finish it off
is a sweet smile, a cheery "later!" and
to be sure in your step, eyes forward like
you know where you're going

and pretending should be easy
with all the practice.

And if you are to see someone
the quickest way to greet them
is a friendly smile and a wave and to keep walking,
and if they don't see you, or don't want to,
you make sure you don't see them, either.

It's all too easy to read them as they
shift their eyes, smile nervously, fidget with their fingers
with each motion telling you to go away,
shut up already, and you wonder
if they can read your broken heart
in the footsteps that sound
so sure and confident against the concrete.

So how are you doing?
Well, that's good.
... Me? I'm...
I'm fine. Yeah, later.

It's all too easy, this fast-paced life
where footsteps fall so firmly on the pavement;
it's all too fine.
So fine that you could be
running, running

And no one will try to catch you.

Two.

2010-03-20T22:03:00.001-07:00

Explode`

like the swollen bulb
of glass light on the damp street
the sad apple explodes.

i can yell until
the skies are screaming for air
because i kept mine

my skies in a jar.
a cold dusty sugar jar
turned sour just today

today that passed by
the gunshots far too near me
and the sad apple explodes

but the thousand shards
can be molded together
a mosaic of glass

sharp to the finger
but smooth enough in the hand
a grip on fresh hope.

One

2010-03-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

열둘.

2010-02-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

열하나

2010-01-17T02:10:00.000-08:00

colour me in

Blue.
Never will the
oceans be wide enough to
capture the feeling

of his cool fingers
entwined in mine, his
smile the ocean wave.

Orange
is the way the sun
dims next to the energy
shimmering from him

and the tang of
his tangerine excitement
that bounces on sand.

Red
wine spills over me
a thousand rubies glis'ning
the burning. his raw

need to express. the
shine in his eyes the angry
snarl of a dragon.

Purple
is what is left. we
are stained with blood and rain-drops
that mixed red and blue;

we are far apart
yet the stars still disappear.
purple midnight when

your lavender breath
is a dusky lullaby
but a crescendo

(in my heart)

열.

2010-01-15T18:29:00.001-08:00

I want

I want
for eyes to see beyond peripheral vision
for ears to listen beyond the nervous laughs, the agreeable nature
of a mouth that wishes to speak without
a brain that wonders if the world will
turn its nose on honest thoughts, without
hands that clench in dark solitude, wishing that
words did not define the person
I want

to be.

아홉.

2010-01-12T18:14:00.000-08:00

Waiting

Wish I were weather
Independent, capable...
Not waiting for change.

여덜.

2010-01-06T23:47:00.001-08:00

metal lace

i can’t sleep
yet the moon’s eyelashes are already dripping from the sky
like so many glittering black beads
spilling like small bullets that kill the world
with the silent scent of night.

there is only the blurred white-hot glare
of car lights taxi cabs red green yellow silver metal
flares of fire, tints of glass. so loud in the warm black night
but so soft, muted by gentle swishes of bat-lashes

the moon sleeps on and the crystal
boom of the heartbeat in my head bounces off the walls
of my dimmed room. the disco ball is turning and
shattering like a world being shot to pieces
softly, softly by the moon at night

일곱.

2009-12-08T22:29:00.000-08:00

bus 365

The rain has stopped
and the grey wings of pigeons fill the city
the soft smell of the city
the delicate drops of light
and the clouds of my breath dance in the frozen air.

Is it snowing where you are?
December today is like December yesterday
the streets were glistening, remember?
with rain that winked with frost

It is cold.

Today I'm here
it was here we last met
there are no words and I can do nothing but
pretend not to see the trembling lips eyes lashes
made of white ink spilling white tears on cold black benches

Do you remember?

The rain has stopped
and the frozen breath of the city is hollow
the slow whir of an engine
number 365.
I breathe and see your grey wings melt
candle-smoke

여섯.

2009-12-04T02:44:00.000-08:00

kaleidoscope

eyes that stare

kaleidoscope irises explode

with unthinkable beauty.

yet fingers freeze

i cannot write the words

and my breath is gone.

eyes rise and fall with the

caressing of the ocean

hands are stuck in the sand

how can i mix them together

on this faraway beach

so that white meshes with black

perfectly like a white silk-screen

slashed with razorblades

over a black graphic-tee

i see the glittering diamonds

all illusions, all illusions

this kaleidoscope that never stops turning

다섯.

2009-12-03T01:01:00.000-08:00

Girl

It's hard to say who I am
or what I do, or
how I look or talk or feel

I'm part of a bigger group
Shadows left for the world to name:
That one's Pretty But Stupid.
That one over there? Cute But Fake.
This one? Nice, I guess. Too Nice.

Shadows for the world to stomp on

Your footprint is left on the asphalt but our hearts
are tainted.
We are fleeting, quick-to-change
to become someone – anyone – you want us to be.

You know who I am?
I'm a girl, someone who is
ugly, crude, crooked, fat, dumb and dull
and doesn't care what you think.

넷.

2009-11-21T02:09:00.000-08:00

A Dance

Midnight masquerade.

Somewhere at this moment

a child is born a soul respires a body crumbles.

But levitated by wings

of her bats for lashes

of glitter and ice

he can take flight into the
mad blue flashing night.

the chambers of the heart
are weak but the beat
is strong.

the world is turning and
their knees are tremb'ling but they
are strong.

even if
white-light tears the black feathers
of the gilded masks
the acid-washed jeans

the charcoal perspiration on
a tarnished silver floor

we will dance.

until apples explode in their cores
until albino bats blend into white nights
until fingers melt into the floor
to join panting flesh,

we will dance.

셋

2009-11-18T21:39:00.001-08:00

둘.

2009-11-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today

Today the breath of night is wispy with sleepy sighs
a cerulean sea-sky marks
bedtime for a faint sun

As if molded in a pot of colors
the firmament is rich with
shingles of violet, growing ever more brilliant as it dims
until at last
the outline of a timid moon,
fragile with its sparkling facets

shows its face in silent serenity
an equalizer, pulling
resounding bass and piercing treble
to a balance of blue.

All within sixty seconds of life
and just a moment's distraction could leave you wondering

how the world has
changed.

하나.

2009-11-06T23:02:00.000-08:00

Birds fly south

Always the autumn.
golden ripe air, blue teardrops.
The black-birds fly south.

South is not down, though
if we suppose that from here
To there it is flat,

Merely far away.

It is south in
my heart, though, like
A billion swings

Pushed from the top of
my brain to the mess
Tangled veins in my

Heart.

We drink the same stars
gaze through the same maple wind
Feel cinnamon drape

O'er our shoulders
like a fine dust, dust like your eyes
That can kiss my mind

They leave a small trail
scattered brown flecks of sunset
Beautiful music

Notes with wings of birds
fleeting. straying. suddenly
Vanishing; subito

Piano.

Not gone but softly
there but not here yet it hurts
Not to let the birds fly south

Poetry Pâtisserie Vol. 5

2009-10-31T22:45:00.000-07:00

Volume Five - publishing completed!

Feel free to commence with Vol 6! *yay*

じゅうに

2009-10-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Revolution

Look.

If you spare just a second from your fruitless thought
and turn your eyes toward the heavens, you'll see.

A cloud marked Destiny, close enough for you to kiss,
for your finger to penetrate its promising surface.

Touch.

If you clench your fists just tight enough
and count your pulse beat-by-beat, you'll feel.

An inexplicable sensation, like lightning,
electrify you - and for once, your heart will win your mind:
You can.
Capitalize on the moment.

Listen.

If you're quiet, motionless
and close your ears to the whistling wind, you'll hear.

The shouting, the drums... they're calling
you out
to change the world.

A call for revolution.

Tomorrow won't wait for men like you
who only wait for things to happen,
who waste the hour waiting for change.

Time to start a revolution.

While you've been waiting, the clock has rot.
Stop thinking, stop speaking. Start doing.

There is power in your palm!

Lead the way
to revolution.

じゅいち.

2009-10-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

Words

The words are there

there in the smooth blue sheen
of night's footsteps
fondled in the warm fingers
of night's cool breath

They are there when red turns green
and wheels propel you forth
the blur of lights like memory
pass through vision's door

Yes, you hear, see them even when
fingers press the car door closed
and Thought is but a fleeting shadow
when words escape the mind in slow
searching for some escape as he
walks into your embrace and
your heart, your heart cannot breathe!
...

Good-bye is a grain of sand.

Time, take mercy.

The words linger in your guttural throat
Door shuts. He waves. Sweet. And tart.
Watch him go.
With you, his words; with him, your heart.

As green melts to yellow and brews red,
good-bye looks on with a sorry stare
and you wish you had said
the words that are there.

じゅう.

2009-10-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

Pond scene

Dragonfly darling
you dip your wings in
red purple blue and green.

Why must you flit
ceaselessly among the water lilies
as a lowly fly that cannot settle?

Your wings are not
glass but
rice paper.

Your body is not
parchment but
crystal.

Though the colors of the lilies
run upon glass
upon paper they leave their stains.

きゅう.

2009-09-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

Breathless

red bokeh
bursts of cherry.

no, of fire
that sears through lips.
and the clock does not melt but
stays intact like
hopelessness. i cannot

shape the black mud
with thimbles on my fingertips and
the strings –
well they stay intact
like handrails waiting for subway trains

はち.

2009-09-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

Glacier eyes

do you know the way you breathe?
like rigid torrents of ice
like peppermint floods

and it numbs my pain
drains my head
soaks my wings

and i drink a glass of silence
until i am lost and found
and lost and found again.

if you dry my tears
with your glacier eyes
and i open my ears
to your sweet lies

can i sculpt your ice
right into my mind
can i keep your smile
behind my eyes?

and do you know the way you breathe?
like streams of cirrus clouds
like sheets of arctic ice

you chase my fingers
steal my shadow
lock my heart

take the key
with your glacier eyes

しち

2009-09-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

Bubble Tea

You love me
your little bubble tea
so slippery smooth
so funky I groove
so sweet and so supple I can be!

Watch as I paddle
against the big ladle
and show off my keen backstroke!
Until I am spooned
and "endearingly" harpooned
with a massively thick straw I am poked!

I watch from below
with a heavenly glow
as I dip within my milky pool.
So often I see
and so amusingly
your big wet globbers of drool.

You attack once again
as we the remaining ten
anxiously escape your paws
Eight, seven, six and then there were five,
My glutinous self still very much alive...!

...and sped right through the straw.

ろく

2009-09-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Her Name is Lauren

Her name is Lauren
whose poetry has a blissful complexion
laid out like outstretched butterfly wings,
like lemons and limes on a silver plate

who dances rhetoric in rainbow ink
who cups the world in weathered palms
and bites into its apple texture

whose prose grow their own two feet
run freely in the blistering wind
and hold a semblance to the sunset,
a natural art
crusted
with unbridled honesty.

Lauren who has walked every inch of the globe
and notices the new spot on a ladybug's wing,
discerns between plumeria and jasmine,
pulls a flea from a puppy's fur,
carefully counting its every leap

who runs against the sullen wind
and takes the world's worries
in painless stride.

Her name is Lauren
whose name is spoken
from all ends of the earth
who wants to be Lily or Madeline or maybe Elyse
but to me,
there is only one Lauren
who can pluck a weed from a stretch of meadow
and place it in a jeweled throne.

ご.

2009-09-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

poison

when morning glimmers
teardrops balancing on eyelashes
we awake with eyes closed

when the trembling fire of leaves
licks the crisply ironed sky
is it yesterday, or something
from a dream?

our minds are
entangled locks and keys
strangled by silent static
that shatters from the inside out.

and as time drains itself
leaving sparkling dust footprints
across a black canvas
is it easy to laugh

with our eyes full of smiles
our hearts frozen over, duct-taped
and our minds knotted with doubts?

し

2009-09-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Rivalry

Once
we were friends.

Like day and night merging
to form sunrise and sunset
dawn and dusk,
a harmonization growing ever stronger
through undying passion

Once
we were perfect.

A friendship so perfect, struck blind that
perfection is never perfect,
with each diamond beholding its flaws.
Our dreams and desires,
swirled and blended like cream in coffee,
were one and of its own.
Just one cup of coffee, with one handle on its mug,
for just one to hold.

Once
we loved.

And that we loved and loved the same -
fuzzy winter nights, a warm summer breeze,
almond milk in cocoa, the smell of evergreens,
and the touch of silky fountain pens
sliding across crisp parchment -
made the coffee, once of perfect blend,
bitter.

Once
we were rivals.

We took words out of each other's mouths
and spoke them for ourselves.
And like day and night,
light and darkness and harmonization,
her sun sought to outshine my moon,
my clouds to stifle her rays,
and our voices, each with the desire to ring a more pleasing tune,
only grew louder.

Then
we drifted.

And the friends who were so perfect together
who loved summer air and winter chill,
cocoa with milk and, most of all, writing

cleaned a cup of its lukewarm coffee
and no longer believed
in flawless diamonds.

さん

2009-09-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

To please you

Should we go on hiding,
go on breathing,
go on feeling ... feeling the wind
rush through open fingers
and dry the tears that fall

perilously dragging down
a heart that wants all
that is too sensitive for him
too hard for her
that beats too quickly for your liking

Such fastidious people
who seek to interpret you like an open book
... do they not
have hearts at all?

に

2009-08-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

Grey morning

liquid mercury
drapes like a dark wax
robe over us.

the morning melts
a consuming silver blanket
muffling sounds
feelings
thoughts

not one left
untouched by its cold
touch.

and even when
dimpled freckled light
reaches a timid finger
a small hand through its
thick cloud cover

grey morning
swallows the sun

いち.

2009-08-14T00:32:00.000-07:00

Time

miso in the soup:
sands of time-melting,
softly settling to reveal
clear broth.

effortless slicing through fog
and sunsets are no longer a reflection
of a reflection of a reflection
of where i want to go.

and i wonder
when that time comes

when rocks of the mind(less)
wear down to polished gemstones
and the breaking of the waves
is not breaking but - breathing.

and when
that time comes

will the noodles slip through
the strainers anymore?
will the soil be sifted
will the sand ever be still
ever still pouring?

i know that like the
way the bow smoothens the
rosin block

the way skin is sandpapered
by friction-shivers of metal strings

the way the cloth dampens
with sweat upon the shoulder of the violinist

that maybe there is no time
that comes.

but simply,
the time that passes
eroding
sifting
\
pouring
slowly f
______a
________l
_________l
________i
_______n
________g
_______.

if that time comes,
maybe we can try

to breathe salt air
to drink purity
to taste smooth sunsets
to see lovely perfectness +
imperfectness that are
meteorites across the
blazing night sky

douze.

2009-07-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

My prayer is this

You walk along your weary shadow
And fall upon your weary knees
Clasp your hands in hope and sorrow
But feel your heart at sudden ease

A whisper to the wind, resigned,
Despair - and hope - so intertwined.

And to the clouds, you send a kiss
And speak so quietly...

My prayer is this:

Let the wilted flower fly
Help the hopeless reach the sky

In pain, in joy, in passion, in fear
For someone to catch that trailing tear

For a hand to lift our heads up high
And brush away the tears we cry

And allow for all those fleeting dreams
to cure the hopeful, seal the seams

For the rich to long not for gold
but to hold the young and feed the old

For love to be past a rendezvous -
the promise of true love to ring true

That the lost and the humbled,
That the homeless and the weak
Piece together what has crumbled
Find light in what they seek

You open your eyes and lift your head -
And never have you felt such bliss...

My prayer is this.

--------------------------------------
End of Batch IV !
And a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to Poetry-Pâtisserie ! [ JULY 20, 2008 ]

onze.

2009-07-24T00:38:00.000-07:00

Aegean Sea

it is
plato's eternity
that you clutch onto
and clear green sea-glass

it is
white heron & silver fish
impossible; evanescent
as churning wave surf-mist.

it is
a crystal rectangle
you grip the frame
but it is an empty door and
your footprints are steam on sand.

it is
an unsoiled doorknob
i lock with a conch-shell
because the aegean sea awaits.

dix.

2009-07-23T02:15:00.000-07:00

sleepless night

it is one of those nights,
she tells herself,
when sleep is for those too weary,
too worn to crave the magic of a secret world -
treasure waiting to be discovered,
mystery waiting to be uncovered -
that sparks just as the clock turns two.

one of those nights
when the gentle ambiance
calls for more than thoughtless breathing.
the impervious darkness of the night sky, pure
as ebony, as onyx
ever so compatible with the swift sprinkle of stars...
a world left unappreciated at this late hour
and she wishes the rest of the world knew.

one of those nights
when a promise is waiting to be fulfilled,
a song is waiting to be sung
to be heard...
when a hopeful finger glides its way across the window pane,
tracing the shooting star,
a quiet, longing wish lingering at silent lips.
The wind carrying a somber chill
is waiting to be felt,
to be embraced, to be shared
and she wishes the rest of the world knew.

one of those nights
when the moonlit path leading to an indeterminate destination
is meant to be walked on
by cautious, anxious feet -
footsteps that wish the sleeping night would
know of their loneliness, their confusion...
the despair of feeling cold concrete against bare feet
and running without direction, without purpose, save
that of survival,
running, just to forget the pain, running running ... to no avail
and she wonders how the rest of the world can continue sleeping

when it is one of those nights...

neuf.

2009-07-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

And where do you hurt?

Are we more than just
broken people living in
shards of shattered hearts?

huit.

2009-07-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

Grass jelly

black slippery seals
sweet dessert of time & past
melts upon fork-tines.

sept.

2009-07-13T01:18:00.000-07:00

Watermelon seeds

regrets
like watermelon seeds
lodged in pink fruit-skin.

enclosed
by soft bruises
easily punctured by a toothpick;
but slides off just as easily.

saved watermelon --
because bruises are stronger.

regrets
like watermelon seeds;

thank them for
the bruises they leave,
the dark pink spots around
watermelon seeds.

six.

2009-07-11T00:55:00.000-07:00

Lemon soda

i found you
sunny citrus

only the bubbles though;
yellow and bursting and
singing of sunshine.

buoy my spirits,
but not for long;

my koala, my lion, my peacock, my owl
they're all too far away --
shrouded by the eucalyptus trees,
all too far away

and i know lemon soda
will turn sour one day.

cing.

2009-07-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Pink sunglasses

silent white
i'm standing on a conveyor belt
only moving one way -- forward

strobe lights
fading from the dance floor
only moving one way -- away

muted fireworks
faraway sparkle in eyes
only moving one way -- apart.

you're silent and still,
too much for

pink sunglasses to erase

quatre.

2009-07-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

Wish

Again I make an
impossible wish on a
nonexistant star

trois.

2009-07-06T15:59:00.001-07:00

are we still falling?

on the other side of the moon,
the crystal light drips off, marring its smooth
complexion with craters empty
as the day you set foot on that train and
chipped away a corner of our
lives

you found your way across the
disfigured surface and with stone arms
and a stone heart
hoisted yourself to face
the moon's round, luminescent facade

on the other side of the moon,
you were a fool.
you thought yourself worthy of its
golden sheen, stretched your arms to match
the expanse of the glittering stars,
as if you could clutch them in the palm of your hand and
never
------let
--------go.

you failed to see that the stars fell through
the empty void of your heart, dark
like the craters, empty - empty
and dark -
like the other side of the moon.

on the other side of the moon,
you found beauty in jewels made of
hollow plastic,
surrounded yourself with sparkly polish-and-peel,
licked the moon's surface as if to
match its power, found pleasure in Happiness Galore
the neon words blinking,
as you did,
to hide your sorry tears.

are we still falling
that you would hear the train's whistle and
forget that you had first found life
on the smoother side of the moon? with no
craters, no fake glowing sheen, just plain and simple and
beautiful.

are we still falling
that you would hear our voices and fixate a pebble
in your heart of stone, and with a trembling ringing voice
tell us that you are just fine,
just fine?

are we still falling
that you would stay on the other side of the moon
with the corners of our hearts in your hands, blindly reaching
for the stars, and
never
------come
----------back?

deux.

2009-06-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

waltz in c minor

blackbird phrases like caves raise
their eyebrows, dark and polished

amber melodies swerve like trains
swooping down broken metal track

dissonance; then consonance

rings through sharps & flats like
water to dried lips

limping rhythms but triplet crutches
catch them in time

inkblot note-heads will
make it in time

because You are triplet crutches
catching dripping seconds from the clock

because You are the track
saving the swinging swerve

because You are the blackbird phrases
like ridges of the roof of the cave-mouth

shelter
me.

un.

2009-06-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Voices in Unison

A sheer and sweet
shimmering, shivering
strum of strings.
Subtle, soft
sugary balance of a single sound
singing.

Delicate, the wings of a dragonfly
that furls and flickers
flitters floats
Flies!

A free and fearless
flourish of fire -
each voice a rapturous
resonating ring;
together, they run and ripple,
'round and 'round in a rhythmic ribbon
resounding.

Strength within a
silky splendor,
synced to snap a sulky silence,
sink the stress and shrink the struggles...

Surge
to a ceaseless sky,
soar within the spongy clouds,
sway among the spirited stars...

And freeze! A flamboyant finish
A flaring fusion of fluctuating frenzy

He calls out
Just the voices!
the strumming ceases,
guitar's wail wilts,
and remnants of the rhythmic ring
hang in the halted haze.

Voices in unison
pervading the packed room
in a pitch of perfection...

Powerful.
A penetrating, permeating purity

Pounding pulsation
and a passionate
promise
of perpetual praise.

十二

2009-06-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

zoo in the sky

iridescent wisps of white shadow are slender, tapered legs
crown of bouncy cumulus – a delicate head of hair
then full, outstretched, sweeping cirrus are wings
strong wings that pull one away, away, into the air
an angel in white. I am whisked away,
whisked fluffy egg-whites and turtle egg-shells.

curls of wind nip and tickle; tapered legs swirl
toward heaven – a powerful horn cutting blue sky
cirrus wrinkles its brow; tough skin-folds of rhino
rustle and scratch, sandpaper of the sky because
even smooth blue sky is not perfectly painted
perfectly air-brushed with watercolor.

perspiration and cumulus cringes, grey skin matted
into slippery ringlets, damp hair bristles a comb to
sort out all tangles all knots all frizz that itches. (but a wish)
platypus treads softly upon cotton swamp ground
rounded beak bent, webbed feet poised to dive
walking paradox, mammal but laying white cloud-eggs.

十一.

2009-05-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

Breath of Life

A single drop of rain,
a delicate bead that instantaneously
seeps into a bed of rich soil
and colors it
the rich brown of coffee.

Her fingertip and
a slight flick at her hair;
it bounces at her touch
like a reflex.
An intriguing circle of motion
as it drifts back to her shoulder
in quiet repose.

And even the faint outline of the moon,
secretly hiding amidst the
luminescent evening sky...
As night approaches,
it crawls closer, each hour with a
more confident stride
as it slowly grows
alive.
It boasts its round perfection,
as if taunting you to simply
pluck it from its
jeweled throne.

Breathing - those
inhales and exhales - is
no longer for the living,
for the living feel not their pulse
and hear not their breath.

But the mobile and idle
elements of this world
relish in the beauty of
every unspoken word and unseen action,
respond to
the momentum of the
wind...

And so it is they
who breathe
the breath of life.
Alive.

十.

2009-05-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

Smile

embrace of sugar petals
heart spills sunshine-drops
the sky springs sweet strawberries

九.

2009-05-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

Psychology

It is a faceless creature you battle,
not with your hands and
not with your heart,
but with your mind.
A psychological battle, if you will,
where your eyes are the
tip of the spear. And the slick, invisible cord
connecting its head to its emotions - its pain and its joy...
that, you remind yourself,
is your target.

The cruelty of it all is addicting,
contagious.
You've been sitting in that
dank office for so long, listening as they whine about
their pitiful lives, nodding and smiling at exuberant tales of
miraculous comebacks, patting their backs
and holding the tissue box... feeling your eyebrows
nearly positioned in a concerned arch on your forehead.

The faceless creature is spewing
another rendition of the same,
mechanical story.
Like a video game, there is a goal,
and you are ready to pounce on it.

It is a puppet in your hands
as you tug a few heartstrings,
pull a few tissues, pat a few pats...
You know every single word
before it's said. It's all so predictable in this office of yours,
where Nobody Understands! but you.

Minds, these luxurious facets of intellect -
theirs are malleable and prone to disfigurement,
but yours is hard and clear as crystal.
You plug into them and read them like books.
Ah, the shelves are full of them.

This one is a new volume as it steps out of the
counseling seat,
thanks you will bleary eyes
and stumbles out.

Once again, success -
with just your eyes and ears as your mouth piece
and your mind
as the weapon.

八

2009-03-31T22:47:00.000-07:00

Girl & Boy

when the light hits
see the green + purple,
the red + blue; we are
always palette opposites.

out of sight, my veins
thud with blood-rapids
your veins frost over
blocks of ice for appendages.

snowflake strands fall
on shoulders, though
icicles can only
melt to drip downward

七.

2009-03-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

Ivory Room

head-pounds, heart-thumps
sour streams of adrenaline
seep through my composure,
shoes fingers skirts trembling

sharp breaths and worries --
lack of depth and focus
not that part of the song;
never that part of the song

black everything
even the calm ivory arches
chiseled by quiet architects
sweat in trepidation

broken plaster and soft
rotted wood window frames
close their eyes and that scalding
water of disappointment pervades

the ivory room
that stumbling me doesn't
belong and what i await
isn't meant for me to have

六.

2009-03-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Lost

Blurred recollections
Of a remembrance long gone
Leading me astray

五.

2009-02-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

Rain

Lift the curtain just a peek
See the nighttime blackness leak
Searching bright light, hard to seek
Hear the raindrops light and meek.

Feel the pitter-pattering beat,
ringing its triumphant feat
Over sunshine rays of heat...
Cold and darkness synced so sweet.

Touch the crystal beads of dew,
Falling from a sky of hues
Taste the nectar stars of blue -
Each pair dots two-by-two.

Because tears are rain so true
of which heartaches still ensue
Pleading painful knots undo
Endless memories of you.

四.

2009-02-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

Memories of My Life

Within the pixie drops of
pink-pressed, lemon-dusted
sea-sparkled, wave-resounding
translucent sheets of
memory...

A single song whispering its
barely audible yet undeniable
tear-laden
story

and flippantly tossing a head of
sun-gold locks and
diverting, spring-green eyes,
sponged with tears at bay,
as if to bury the
sorrow --
and leave the song playing
and re-playing on a broken record in
vast silence and
solitude.

Heart bursting,
adrenaline rushing, lips quivering, eyes widening,
hands pressed stubbornly against ear drums that just won't stop
listening.

A cold breeze in an enclosed room
with splintering heat
seeping through thick, unforgiving walls,
sweeping at an
open diary...
secrets spilling
from a hole you call your
heart.

And it simply continues
breezing through each and every
page, shrieking your
lifestory -
words unspoken, tears unshed -
to the ears of
too many.

Then
It stops.

The music dies in a wistful
good-bye,
the pages shed like
autumn's browning leaves.
Heavy heart, wearily
taping and tending its wounds,
tensely threading itself back in a
tightly-woven basket.

But the song, while muted,
resonates in repeat
and the basket that is thrown in the wild whirlwind of
pink-pressed, lemon-dusted
sea-sparkled, wave-resounding
memory...

Allows the crashing waves
to again swim through its cracks
and sting its wounds.

三.

2009-01-17T00:16:00.000-08:00

Light Graffiti

bend twist & skid
along a whirring highway

macaroni noodles simmer
steam boiling yellow red blue ice
frozen sprays of silver breath sweep

a moving sky

glowing fingers drip
seep through ebony clouds
gold blood of stars fill grooves of dry
lips and skin gleaming glitter sequins

curved streetlights
silent Bright loud Dark black White night.

二.

2008-12-11T20:49:00.000-08:00

Winter

Chiming bells wrapped in
Ribbons of silk
Whispering through frost
Excitement in
Lighted bulbs of
Redgreenredgreen
In a luminescent
Jeweled chain

The cold wind
Smiles through woven scarves
Padded mittens, and
Rosy cheeks.

Winter in its finest coat
Rings the doorbell
In a beautiful flurry of white.

一。

2008-11-27T16:31:00.000-08:00

chalk fleece

white pollen
tumbles from frozen sky
onto icy breath.

frigid dust
on kelly green cardigan
that curls at the smallest
touch, though it has been stiff
with the cold and the ice and the wind

snowflake, paper crystal
delicate between pink
trembling fingertips
skin touches skin
with tremors that
a heart holds on to --

sugar white wafer
has blended with air; us
that lasted too short and sweet.

Intermission

2008-11-13T16:42:00.001-08:00

Part Two complete!

Publishing...
Status: ~~in progress~~ finished!

Shan & An Productions is proud to present...
Poetry Pâtisserie - The Second Volume (click!)

Part Three will commence shortly.

xii

2008-11-10T17:19:00.001-08:00

Alive

single silent palm tree
like a soldier, salutes me

damp dark eyelashes
dimly dust the window

slow soft falling berries
secretly swimming in a puddle

how do dry heartless footsteps
dance at all in the rain

xi

2008-11-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

Piano fingers

Stillness of the room

You drown
with your swift and subtle
Piano fingers.
Ripples and
Waves of em(ocean)
and quick, quirky
Cricket whistles.
Long, dreary, sorrowful;
soft, airy, nostalgic.

More than music,
more than sound.
Your piano fingers
snap
light to a wilting wick.

--

I have no idea what I'm writing. Total Writer's Block. This is not my style at all.

x.

2008-10-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Forgiveness

-------Forgiveness is
-----a tree, its branches
---carrying the fruit of to-
---morrow. Leaves woven
---by the strings of a cello;
-----serene and slow, a
-------heart can only
-----------beat so
-----------quickly.
------------Rest- -------you
-------------less ----------are
------------heart------------------- I
-----------pleading ------------------am
----------for grace. ---------for-
---------Lips parting -------given
--------Three words: --------------------sav-
--------------------------------------------ed.

-----A written promise to
---------Set you free.

ix.

2008-10-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

apology

ashes crackle
sprinklings of sorrow
upon a cold hard hearth

voices crackle
splittings of sadness
upon a bitter hating heart

shadows crackle
silhouettes of suffering
upon a mind unmoved untouched

viii.

2008-10-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you

For your words of assurance
In my wreck of nerves

For your genuine smile
and dependable arms of
love

For reaching out to me
first; you noticed before I even
asked

For the bell of calm
you offered me in
my overwhelming, tumultuous
rainstorm

You held the umbrella
and shielded the sky.

T h a n k y o u .

vii.

2008-10-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Regret

Writing in a crumpled wad
Distorted lettering
Scrubbed to smudged, fine lines

Words from the tongue
Shared, bitten, swallowed

Laced fingers against
Sweating palms in
Discomfort

Joy and pain
In a fixated mixture;
Too blended to filter
the beating black
of one's heart.

The quiet silence of an
Aching soul...
Deafening.

and an unspoken "I'm sorry"
lingers in her breath,
the smoke dissolving
like a
kiss good-bye.

vi.

2008-10-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

Red Plaid

Comfortable Jacket with vintage zipper
--------------------that passes over, silver trailing
soft black cotton with lush red lining
--------------------that opens up to warm heart beating
while metal teeth lock to scare approaching
--------------------that closes over, cold eye staring

Sheepskin Scarf with tousled tassles
--------------------that dangle over a throat soft singing
checkered patterns with small black stiching
--------------------that opens up, a melody clear ringing
while thread entwine to forbid contacting
--------------------that closes over, stern arms folding

v.

2008-09-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

of Celestial Bodies

this morning sun;
a white stage spotlight
and we play comic midget-shadow tag

this noon sun;
with a shine duller than the moon
and our shadows are bluntly sliced away

this sunset sun;
dips into violet red orange skies, to
color golden shadows wavy like mini-seas of prairie straw

but now
as night falls, we can't
keep the shadows, these
black-mirror images
of me and you

and now
a circle of pale floats upon
this cursed sea of dark ebony
washing away my last recollection
of me and of you

iv.

2008-09-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ignition

Footsteps my heart chased
A fire igniting ablaze
Memories erased

iii.

2008-09-15T00:06:00.000-07:00

His Song

a voice
shines

four-hundred miles away,
but i feel the glistening ripples of sound in my ears

a song;
he sings a song of cloudy eyes & last good-byes,
of misty crying skies & betraying lies
and with the sunrise & a sad demise
the false fire of love that slowly dies
and he cries

four-hundred miles away,
but i feel the teardrops slither on my own cheeks

the words fill my head;
"forever," "someday," - "never," "one day;"

a song;
he sings a song of cloudy eyes & last good-byes,
of misty crying skies & betraying lies
and with the sunrise & a sad demise
the false fire of love that slowly dies
and he cries

four-hundred miles away,
and i'm secretly thinking, the song
sounds just like what i would write

ii.

2008-09-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

railroad track

listen
to the sugarflutter
of babies' eyelashes ;

taste
the peppersorrows
of rainy-day oceans ;

smell
the limeshadow
of electric-powerlines ;

glimpse
the wheatdance
of dandelion-fields ;

breathe
the iceglistening
of eastcoast-footsteps .

i.

2008-09-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

[PART-TWO]

Breathe

I see through walls
And smell through dust;
touch through glass,
taste through tears.

Breathe in.

Another painful breath...
take it
in
to stifle
the endless fight for
air.

It is quiet
in the carpenter's workshop.
I am baffled by
the tranquility emitted by
screaming nails driven into a wooden heart.

Blissful crimson
as nails bite my palm
in nervous anticipation
to
breathe again.

Quiet the disruptive pounding,
hush the bubble of life
in its shrill desperation.

The hot air rushes
from between clenched teeth,
and in an instant,
I am facing
peeling, white paint.

Dust against my eyelashes,
glass at my fingertips,
and the tears
sting.

Crimson
to purple...

Breathe out.

- Intermission -

2008-09-01T01:51:00.000-07:00

This marks the End of Part 1 .

Part 2 will commence soon,
with new titles [Roman Numerals]!
Shannon has compiled Part 1 as a Word Document
Shannon is currently in the delicious process of designing.

--

Copies will be available shortly.

--

POETRY BLOCK'S
FIRST COLLECTION

IS BEAUTIFUL!

- Twelve -

2008-08-22T01:41:00.000-07:00

Insomnia

A sleepless night
Silence is cheek-fuzz;
Radio-static or TV-sizzles

A graphite scratch
Isolation is lizard-skin;
Basement-mold or Fridge-mildew

A knotted strand
Thinking is fishing-line;
Jumbled shoelaces or Twister tangles

A grey cassette tape
Rewinding is sea-sickness;
Churning milk-tea or Lactose lurch

- Eleven -

2008-08-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

Nostalgia

A single voice
Reverberating from
Quiet speakers

His voice alone
Fills the empty room
And the gap in your memory

Like the perfect mending
Of red and black
The music melts your
Dark chocolate of a heart

The tears fall inevitably
As you are swung under the hypnotism
The power of a plunging
Wave of nostalgia

- Ten -

2008-08-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

Feelings-Nest

ambivalent ache
fermented soybean curd
hidden bubbles burst.

- Nine -

2008-08-06T00:26:00.000-07:00

Haiku for the Hungry

Diving, jubilant
Glassy, crystalline noodles
In simmering broth.

- Eight -

2008-08-06T00:10:00.000-07:00

Apathy

Apathy is a creature
Who speaks no words.
Its mumbled utterance is shadowed by
A slumberous, blurry
Haze.

A bee without its buzzer,
It lands on the unsuspecting.
Its stinger plunging, beady eyes staring
It takes no shame in stripping one of
Dignity.

Slowly and painfully,
Its poison traps the heart in an iron grip.
Unlatching the jaws of a bottomless trap
Leading the way to a plundering
Failure.

Just as the last petal of autumn
Is smothered under winter's blanketing snow
Passion, determination, optimism
Descends in the deathly headlock
of Apathy.

- Seven -

2008-08-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

Autumn

maple trees shed
red-stained tears of leaves
pursuing the conquest of the hills they dot

fiery colors are spilled
by the bucketful; green cloaks of
the hills evolve into blazing dragon skins

- Six -

2008-08-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Defiled Sparkle

ice like
polished glass of
cat's eye marble

duckling steps
blundering feet
heavy brown skates

awkwardness ensues;
clumsy pigeon-feet scratches
tarnish once immaculate cold ice

almost a fall;
i flounder and clunk
to the nearest rink's edge

i halt further mutilation
i stop further profanity
to this ice, this slice of perfection

- Five -

2008-08-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Infinity on Ice

Her eyes
Locked in concentration
Her glistening blades
Slicing the ice
In an impeccable manner
As she weaved in and around
Without the slightest waver

Her posture
Straight and poised
With professionalism beyond her tender age
Gliding across the rink
Her skates scarcely meeting the ice
As her pace quickened
She braced herself for the climax

Her feet
Like satin ribbons, they intertwined
Hovering in the air for
Three or four or five seconds
As we held our breath
She struck the ice as graceful as
A dolphin dipping into the ocean

Her arms
Elegantly stretched above her head
Her fingers in a gentle curvature
Back arched and head thrown back
She twirled like a spinning coin
Serene as a music box ballerina

Her face
Composed and relaxed
Not even a heave to signify her rapid breathing
She launched splits in the air
Abrupt, effortless leaps
The ice beneath her crackling as she landed

Her legs
Delicate and long
Stemming from a petite body
Caressed the smooth ice
As she encircled the rink
Feeling its circumference through closed eyes

She drew an infinity on ice
With a sensational finish

- Four -

2008-07-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

Visage

empty tunnels are
eyes

but there is a fallen ember
embedded in the tissue of the
black burrow

spindly branches are
cheekbones

they are branches in winter;
branches deprived of leaves of light of warmth

but there is a single rainkissed tendril
crisp raw green pale anticipating,
the promise of spring

- Three -

2008-07-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Glamor

It is warm
as I push myself out of bed
With cloudy eyes and disheveled hair,
I feel the breath of the sun on my skin

It is bright
as I attack the tangles with a comb
With toothpaste foam in my mouth
I squint to see myself through the sun's reflection

It is serene
as I coat my cereal in a blanket of milk
With the armory of a shiny spoon
I listen for the chirruping of birds in between bites.

It is calm
as I climb into the car and slide the door closed
With a tedious vocabulary list in hand
I recite their definitions aloud, in hopes of remembering them.

It is refreshing
as I clamber out, carelessly waving good-bye
With closed eyes,
I breathe the fresh air, sweet as honeydew.

It is disappointing
as I reach the classroom,
hair tied and teeth clean,
vocabulary words hovering above my head,
replenished and hunger-free,
With my palm grasping the door knob,
I bid farewell to the endless pleasures of
a golden and glamorous
Morning.

- Two -

2008-07-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Wistful

Eleven o'clock loneliness
All is quiet but the subtle whispers of
Sorrowful music

The noise is delicate
Like the way she dips her toe into the pool
To test its temperature

The man's voice is a mere echo
Curiously haunting; luring me with comforting assurance
Away from this place so devoid of life

Tears intertwine in his throat
He is begging; it is hard to comprehend
His wispy voice encrusts me in confusion.

Pulling at my heartstrings
His singing controls me like a puppet
Anguish reverberates, following his flawless vibrato

It drains me of energy, yet I cannot stop listening
His words are painful; a blatant truth.
Secrets I hide

In this lonesome, wistful hour.

- One -

2008-07-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

Night

dark blue
close walks
in shadows

silver
whispered secrets
tingle
and kiss.

iridescent
the stars
are diamonds
precious sprinkles

transparent
your winter breaths
caressed my soul

- Zero -

2008-07-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

Prelude -

Poetry-Patisserie presents a collection of poetry cordially brought to you by Shan & An.