The Last Time

Neil Young was playing.  The Comes a Time album.  Sipping a beer, he stared into the fireplace and saw her face.         Young did that … More

One of These Days

“You know me,” he said. “I have a smile for everyone.” His smile, this one to illustrate, seemed to be … More

The Cube

I was riding the Pacific Heights bus toward Ward Avenue when I saw the smoke.  As we neared the source, I … More

Here There Is No Light

For us, two hells might await us at the end of our existence. One is to be consumed in fire. … More

Very Zen

“Excuse me, sir, but you can’t stop here. Please keep walking.” She’s pleasant enough, but I sense a sinister undertone, … More

The Last One

The bud, pristine, sat there unopened.       If you talk to plants, they’re supposed to hear you.  That’s what Helen … More

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