An ember lights the shoot, then dies
The canvas is spread, waiting for the artist / No blade can pierce the bullet
But her gaze will.

A poem about immigration, assimilation, and generational legacies.

A semi-autobiographical poem talking about self-imposed exile into eventual self-rediscovery and cherishing life while transforming from the East to West Coast. The poem also talks about mood and social shifts while incorporating the experience from both coasts.

you say that I’m no good at com part men tal iz ing- never learnt to quite tell …

Summers were once my own.Now I spend themChasing someone else’s dreamsTo fulfill unspoken obligations… Unspoken obligations which bind meLike the feet of my ancestorsBack in my homeland China. “Become a doctor,” they say,As if there is no alternative. But didn’t they come to America,The land of the free,In…

“More, more, MORE!” whines the voice inside your head Your id’s become your identity, instant gratification thy middle name. Every vein pulsating with greed Lusting evermore for the latest, the coolest, the best For thy passion of the day, the hour, the minute, the second. Satiation is the…