Nainai said she killed people in this house
Two of her own children,
One was missing a scoop of porridge in his bowl,
One was missing a layer of cotton in his jacket.
They said: “Ma, when we grow up we will build you a big big house,”
“Everyone has their own room” “and two extra rooms”
“Filled with golden manto” “And swan-feather blankets!”
“And peanuts!”
Nainai said she killed people in this house,
Her own father,
Who one night swallowed twenty extra sleeping pills,
Laid still.
He said: “When you found your love I’ll build you a big new house,
I live in this one, across the street.
So when I make something good, you can get a bowl before it gets cold.”
Nainai said she killed people in this house,
Her own husband,
Who had personality of flame–selfless, no fear.
He stepped out of the door in his neatly ironed uniform, his back to her.
So far, so near.
He said “The country is a big house, it is my duty, my purpose,
To guard when enemy arise! I promise,
When the country is secured, I will return, and I will never leave your side.”
Nainai said she killed people in this house,
Herself,
The survivor of the chaos, but her soul defeated.
In her hollow shell she had to face the samely hollow,
Collapsing house, unchanged.
She said: “Yujia, next year when you come back to me.
I’ll teach you to build a house.”
Walking around my house Never knowing what to do I feel minuscule like a mouse And although many years have past, and I grew
I still feel very lost Yet the years go by way too fast Still questioning everything, I feel kind of tossed I know I need to stop dwelling on my past And move ahead.
Remember, she said, to watch,
to watch for their every move
as if you are the predator
And you have to be brave
I keep my eyes clear,
my eyes straight
not letting a whisper blow past
And breathing with a freight
My prey looks back at me,
As I carefully switch a piece
Not slowing down Or wanting to cease
As the pieces moved back and forth
The game seemed to never end
Until the King is trapped
And no longer has a friend
Never the same.
Years ago, on that field, the revolutionary war Sprung up
The first shots,
Fired.
Now, a subject of history,
Tourists are led by men in olden clothes, Triangular hats sitting atop their heads.
I can go to school and learn anything I want Without ever stepping outside the classroom. When I just look around me,
I see people from all around the world,
With their own, different
Cultures, stories,
Ever changing,
Never the same.
Sitting outside,
The trees rustle their leaves, letting me relax. I release all of the stress from the day. Again,
Tomorrow will be
Never the same.
I walk back to my elementary school— Standing there, on the pavement,
I watch my childhood field
Get torn up
Dug up
The rocks that dutifully served as our soccer goals Now a pile of sand,
The playground where I loved to play
Replaced by a big block of metal,
Growing and growing each day.
Soon, it will become a big school,
For those young children
To again kick their soccer balls
And slide down slippery slides.
And when I come back,
It will be
Almost the same.
The fog surges,
the sunrise awaits.
Complete serenity,
Rain, clarity
Yearning a shift.
The vapor cascades down,
Warmth, lucidity
a place
home to a dove.
Enchanting,
Captivating
Enduring the luminosity,
letting yourself immerse,
through the fog
the rain
The city of eternal spring.
Till nightfall,
and sunset
when the city becomes viable.
Light surges from the mountains,
overlooking the beacon
Sending the reek of death beyond
the enchantment
at the cusp of your fingers
Medellin
A shocking paradise
Where dark meets outstanding light.
Acquires a feeling of intimacy
Everyone ecstatic,
Joyful
content
Lights glowing
Water glistening
enchantment
Colombia.
Before you were born, you were the thought of fear about the future. Before you were born, you were a
mistake, an accident, and now a problem. Before you were born, your parents were working on a farm,
picking vegetables, and growing rice. You were living on a farm, hours outside of the city, up on a
mountain, in a tiny village. Before you were born, your parents worried about providing food for
themselves. You were a pea-sized fetus, undernourished, and under-developed growing each day.
Before you were born, you were the joy that brought a smile to your mother’s face, but tears, to your
fathers eyes. Before you were born, you were the fear of not getting the future you deserve. You were the
thought that your parents could not provide a life for you. Before you were born, you were the thought that
living somewhere else, becoming a new person, and having new parents would be the best option. The
only option.
Pack up your bags
Gather your thoughts
Go outside and feel the heat
Mixture of red color roaming the street
Hitting their heads on the titanium wall, wishing it to fall
Bottles of alcohol flying the sky
Keeping the fire inside them, ambitioning freedom inside their mind Black crows filling the whole sky
Hold flags to the sky
Until they reaches the clear high sky
Red mixes orange and orange mixes yellow
Tiny flames gather and make disasters of fire
People rush out to the street as the signal of revolt
Fire never go off
Tiny bit of flame rising from the ashes
Get bigger with more flames
Until the corruption falls
The big yellow house
With the large green yard
Where I grew up in Connecticut
My memories,
still
Here,
There,
everywhere.
Fishing in the pond
Just down the road,
From the big yellow house
Flying down the zipline,
In the backyard,
Of the big yellow house
Jumping on the slip n slide
Swimming in the pool
During the summer
At the big yellow house
Walking in the backyard,
to the woods
To the river,
To the pond,
That is just down the road,
From the big yellow house
Air hostess by day,
partying by night
One day, on the plane
terrorists were there
No one knew
Life was at risk
For everyone, not just me.
I told myself
be confident.
The plane stopped in Karachi, Pakistan
and everyone freaked out
The terrorists pointed
the gun
at the kids
at the end after
everyone was out
of the plane.
I jumped in
front of the kids
and was shot down.
I died
because
I saved many
lives.
I died
with pride and
those three kids
alive.
I died
with confidence that
I did the right thing.
Hopefully,
this confidence inspires
others to become
a air hostess because
it is not an easy job or
responsibility.
It is important to
realize how a job
doesn’t only come with
working, it comes with
accountability; whether
others can depend on
you or not.
Therefore, I died with
a award in my name and
my parents and
country
proud of me.
I see them coming through the window
They patrol the streets at night
They stare at me…
The soft purring scratches the air like a claw on wood
They patrol the streets at night
They sit there. Waiting…
The soft purring scratches the air like a claw on wood
They clean the alleys of their prey
They sit there. Waiting…
They march to the beat of fear
They clean the alleys of their prey
They claw the carrion of the uncaged birds
They march to the beat of fear
There is no escape from their sight
They claw the carrion of the uncaged birds
Their control is complete and utter.
There is no escape from their sight
They roam the streets at night
Their control is complete and utter.
They walk up to the house without a mutter.
They roam the streets at night
They’ve come to take me with a haunting. Colorless. Grin
They walk up to the house without any mutter.
They put their gun to your head if you stutter.
They’ve come to take me with a haunting. Colorless. Grin
They stare at me…
They put their gun to your head if you stutter.
I see them coming through the window.