Why do we let the leaves fall?
Crumpled and exhausted,
As if desperate to recharge,
Unaware that once they fall,
They fall forever.
Why is it that the snow melts?
So white and innocent at first,
It gradually turns into gray mush.
And snowflakes fade away
Like unkept promises.
Why can’t flowers stay in bloom?
Cherished and watered
With love, kindness, and honesty.
Why do they have to thrive
Only to be disappointed?
Why does the Sun have to burn?
Generous and warm are its rays,
But they disarm and scathe us.
The harder the burn,
The more we enjoy the sparks.
(2018)
Look Up
Hey, buddy,
zoom in on your imperfections.
Make decisions —
Googling can’t solve everything.
Instagram your fears.
Don’t calculate your pain
to fit it into 280 characters,
but accept it and let go.
Stop begging,
“Like me, like me, like me,”
and start liking yourself.
Try to understand your selfie
and don’t judge others’.
Pin what excites you right onto your chest
and wear it with pride and a smile.
Swipe someone off their feet
instead of swiping them left.
It just so happns
that many people will pass by you unnoticed
unless you look up to see them.
It’s time to face the real world,
the one that’s not pixelated
or graphically enhanced.
Look up before your battery is dead.
(2016)
Somebody’s.
We often see somebody’s pain
On their burden-wrinkled faces.
In their hearts, we see their vain.
We dream of someone else’s graces.
Somebody’s world, it fades away —
We see it in somebody’s mirrors.
We feel their fear as they play,
As they pretend to be the heroes.
We often shed somebody’s tears
Over somebody’s empty hearts.
We lead somebody’s lives for years
And then we take them all to parts.
We often hear somebody say
How much it hurts to be alone.
We are somebody’s. We are their.
We are no longer our own.
(2014)
Our Divide
I’ve exhausted myself.
Now at your altar — my smiles,
My patience, my health.
What matter my desires
When you’re the builder of peace?
It’s in this empty mess
That I’ve been trying to release
You of your fear and your stress.
All’s done us no good,
Since you weren’t prepared for the ride.
I’m blamed, misunderstood,
And your peace is our divide.
(2018)