From Flames

Can smell the fireand the watersometimes imagineif water has a smellthat remnant steamy scentof memories Never cared for the way … More

Breathe

When I could bare to stand nakedYour eyes on me for a first timeI prayed for the bestCrossed my fingers … More

A Book of Hours

My legs go numb standing thereGrasping the wooden edges to hold meSo long that the usher behind meClears his throat … More

It’s Inevitable

What’s that oneOn the tip of your tongueOr more your ear It goesDa da da di da di da da … More

Arrivals and Departures

At any momentTurn a cornerOpen your eyesSwitch on a lightHe’s hereYou recognize himComing to you without greetingA pause at the … More

When What’s Not Isn’t Missing

Something you should knowIs sometimes not’s not missing Not isAs in the space between two words on a pageOr the … More

What We Say

I’ve seen many timesLike a dart that hits a stray markHow friends among each otherOpen and honestAbout nearly everythingWill say … More

My Tiny History Here

I wonderIf the moon impartsA four billion year oldHistory lessonDo I miss any instructionAsleep most times belowUnable to knowWhat wisdom … More

Dropped Call

Drive into the tunnel nowAll flesh drawn tighter than airAll around my chestBody stiff concrete lungsA deepest breath heldThe harder … More

“It’s the Yu Clan,” Episode 12 of my latest Lt. David Chan Hawai’i-based mystery, is now available on the Kindle Vella platform

Islands

That popularized line of John Donne’sAbout no one being a self-sufficient islandThat we are all partOf a larger interdependent groupBoth … More

Careful

As spring comes in with that lion’s roarUnder this sky it’s a jagged light showTree limbs shattering in screams at … More

Direction

What happened to my compassI had it when I was a cub scoutLearning about directionsStuck in a drawer somewhereI hunt … More

Unawakening

You’ll hold down the bench next dayBeen there beforeLots of practicePerfecting the uneven eveningThe uncalm lurching darkRevisit old desiresCurrent onesProblemsSituationsRelationshipsBuffaloed … More

Something New

From the moment he woke up this morning, he knew he needed something different. As he brushed his teeth, looking … More

Avoid Plagiarism

I borrow from heroes, as many writers doAnd avoid plagiarism by making words newTo walk that fine line I’ve disguised … More

I am not sentimental

Never have beenNor ever plan to beWon’t waste words on timeOr anything gone byThe delicate sensibilityFeelings first and wistfulNostalgiaA waste … More

A Word to the . . .

Every second on the clock I learnA second’s more something.Even asleep dreams tickTheir teachings to me,Reassembling information accruedThrough years, mixing … More

Some daily affirmation

I swearIs what I needIn truth I doTo be that kind of personOnce I decide to doI will ahead and … More

Fish

Fish             Squatting at the pond’s edge, he held a small fishnet in his hand. He could smell the familiar slight … More