Red burn of white paper, orange glow of rising smoke

He’ll always go home in that fitting brown aloha shirtFaded Reyn’s from years of favorite wear and washThe cycle repeated … More

What Happens in Busan

Whenever I saw the ad, I’d wonder what would stay thereAdultery, drugs, murder – what threshold needed to be metHow … More

I have a friend who told me she is ‘traveled out’I’ve not reached that point, although there’s only one place, … More

In a cave here, on a mountaintop thereKorea lives in me by bits and piecesBite-sized chunks I can drink inMelts … More

Losing pages dog-eared as my life like chapter timesRead my path like a book left fading on a pale benchWhen … More

The sounds of over there is ‘them’ and here is ‘us’Ghosts hear as if they were the honoring of some … More

In eyes I see here, my ancestors’ gaze cast by manyThere’s a hardness of a kind I can’t quite identifyAnd … More

And he says, “In this line, what does ‘it’ refer to?” I stare at the line then close my eyes … More

When I’m here, I love the taste and smell of garlic more than usualWill chew it even in the morning, … More

Before breakfast, I cross the street outside my hotelTo visit the Jogyesa Buddhist Temple People of all ages and economic … More

It’s good to be back in KoreaA third time as charming as the firstLet the magic beginIn the fatherland I’m … More

Here’s to the broom, the mop, and the spongesThe cloths, the sprays, and the toilet bowl brushesTools of the exercise … More

So true, how you always seem to chooseThe slowest register line in the grocery store(It even applies now to self-checkout … More

Reached that crossroads where you have to stop and wonderWhat mightn’t be a turning point or which may indeedDebating about … More

Ultimate Dave — he gave himself that name — is bragging again. “I’m the king of ultimate frisbee,” he proclaims, … More

The first time I came home for a Christmas breakHaving endured a frigid Midwest fall semesterThe coldest on record, my … More

We all face each otherThe sun going downNot as wide a circle as it used to beNowadays a bit windedThe … More

I have to be on a south side beach to experience the glory of a Hawai‘i sunsetAn unobstructed view between … More

The hardest path is sometimes the shortestTruth to be told or a falsehood to concealHeavy heart and conscience plaguedIn either … More

When I look back, over my shoulder, I see ours had to be the sort of loveThat must be transitory, … More