When I arose before the sun

when I arose before the sun

and felt your arms around me

no clouds or rain

or thunderstorms at dawn could find me.

the road we ride our bikes on

side by side

through city's reclaimed railway paths

passing travelers, endless life unravelers

through Taiwan's maze of corrugated blight

eyes tearing from store signs

and burning stalks from harvested fields

onward to a place in time

that changes nowhere in my mind

life alive transfixed with love

and rides to adventures

to stars that swirl above

and shine on dreams in our hearts

other-worldly feelings

that cannot amend the way we move

always transcending

who we are and how we feel

to reach a place where gems

like your Pisces moon eyes

under eyebrow flares

frame your ebony hair

in the throne off constellations

ages from the sunspots

of our back pages

March 6, 2021

Alishan

Comments

Love on an express train with a local ticket

Love is like being on an express train With a local ticket and no reservation. One stop you sit chillin’ as soon as it starts; It takes you for a little while and a little while more. Next stop? Get up to find another seat at the door; Maybe the next stop will be the end of the line, So rock her down till the rollin’ stops, When you seem too familiar and kind. Too hungry to sit and hard-pressed to move on, It is done before you reach your destination. Perhaps you sit on the floor transfixed Or stand in the vestibule near the toilets. When you’ve opened your eyes to the world you created, It is half past late for the ride to go that way. Without faith and vision no place goes well. From car two, aisle-seat nineteen you move, To car two, seat twenty-six window move, Third stop, to car four, no seat at all; Two-thirds of your life down the line. Red signal reflection on how your trip’s been going. The train may reach your station too so...

Because dogs are the best people❤️

Some have a dog to keep them company Someone to go out and be with them Take her for walks or places to explore A place a friend would not disagree going Call her by name when she dawdles Wait for her when she is distracted If I could rent a dog to keep me company It would not be fair to say goodbye For she would be more than a child or wife Till death I would need to be in her life A child grows and a wife sometimes stops Being a part of her best friend’s life I have thought about how to walk with a cat Or a bird on my shoulder to claw me till home A turtle and slowly get used to its gait A hedgehog, fish, snail or mouse enclosed An invisible deejay radio talk show mate None of whom would be a good on a date I’ll go to the roof and drink with the moon Instead of staying alone in the dark of night Watching one by one street lights turn on Another evening with no one beginning With all the freedom a ...

To a local shrub with roots so deep

See first live rendition here Can a transplanted tree afford to lose rain To a local shrub with roots so deep? Wide and far in its reach To the sandy soil of the settler’s beach Where an ancient ship wrecked at sea Spilled its seeds on fertile soil Grew a forest in a far flung land Bearing fruit carried away Depleted and thinned towards extinction A foreign tree lost its distinction Without maintenance Till a leaf in the breeze was all that remained And the sweet taste that bloomed was soon forgotten Becoming an eyesore not worth kindling As lonely it had become as could be Yet just north across the tropic of Cancer In a temperate zone with a kind of its own So much density the forest did see With its own kind thriving naturally Through storms and droughts and falling outs Wandering offspring in wind settling in Unpicked fruit fallen to the ground For anyone who’d lost their doubt This is how culture comes about As ship-wreck...

Taiwan Providence

Search This Blog