[Poetry] New Year Musings

Laughter rings in one corner
Of card games and revelry,
In another corner, gossip
Is exchanged with cups of tea.

Golden mandarins are piled
Next to plates of unfinished food,
And incense slowly burns,
Trailing serenity through the room.

[Poetry] I Miss…

Running through sprinklers
On a summer day in the park,
Seeing stars in the sky
Instead of the dark.

Looking at the world
Through rose-colored eyes,
Believing I could be anything
Before life showed me otherwise.

[Poetry] A Toast

Here’s to Cupid aiming accurately,
To true love being found.
Here’s to being nice (and a little naughty!)
For Santa all year ’round.

Here’s to keeping our heads up high,
When we’re crawling in the dirt.
Here’s to friendships that last for life,
And to family that doesn’t hurt.

[Poetry] Precipice

There’s a pounding in my head,
The weight of words unsaid,

And a pounding in my chest
Of screams that just won’t rest.

I’m Glad I Live In A World Where There Are Octobers

From Halloween and New York Comic Con preparations to studying for midterms and digging out scarves, October means a lot of things to a lot of people. For me, October is the month of new beginnings—it is to me what January is to most people.

My year starts in October because this is my birthday month. This was the month I was born, the month I started life, and so every year, this is the month I reflect on how I have lived, make my resolutions for a happier, healthier life, and then start again. 

[Poetry] Our Banyan Tree

There was a banyan tree growing in the sand, one leaf for every memory we shared, one branch for every year.

There were leaves turned crispy brown for every time we argued, growing next to leaves of bright green for every time we made up.

[Flash Fiction] Sisterhood

They arrived first: one Asian girl checking their reservation with the host and the other girl checking her frizzy hair in a pocket mirror.

“Stupid humidity—every time,” she groaned as they were shown to their table.

“Do you think she’ll show up?” the Asian girl asked. “Probably not, right? It’s been five years since we’ve talked.”

[Poetry] Existence

I have ink in my veins
And blood in my words,
I have a voice behind this pastiche of a life,
A voice that is dying to be heard.

I have verses in my heart
And a heartbeat in my pen,
I have a raft fashioned from rosewood and paper,
That has saved me again and again.

[Poetry] The Night I Went To The Carnival

I remember the laughter of children,
Racing under neon lights,
And the scent of nearby hydrangeas,
Permeating through the night.

I remember the taste of cotton candy,
Melting sugary sweet on my tongue,
And the apples swimming in caramel—
The carefree diet of being young.

[Poetry] Therapy

You asked me to write my feelings,
And so I did, although I
Don’t know if you can help me,
But I’d still like you to try.

For years, I’ve walked in the dark
Trying to follow the light within,
But it’s been so long that I don’t know
Where the shadows end and I begin.