Funny how memory can play the roleOf a well-meaning deceiverWhisperer of white liesWeaver of softening patternsRounder of rough contoursA childhood…
Night Visits
The night opens my eyesAnd awake will see into the darknessIt’s not that kindSo solid it’s like beingConfined in a…
I’m happy to say that Episode 1 of my 6th Lt. David Chan Hawai’i-based mystery, “Bullets Flying,” is now available on the Kindle Vella platform.
Home Bound
I hand-built this pitcher with care for youDid not thrown it mechanically on a wheelBut the hairline cracks from the…
A Mentor
My third grade teacher, Miss Reed (Read)Told my parents that I did not read at grade levelShe asked them if…
The Moon Setting
It was always like, Hey, brahThe f-ing moon’s setting on usWe gotta get outta this placeBecause our folksAre gonna freak…
Out and In
I’m the flower pinned to a party wallI’m the violet that always shrinksI’m hardly the life of anythingIt’s a bit…
No Such Thing as Even Days
Every slice of frozen timeHeld up to the examining lightHold your place in itWith a wrinkling index fingerAnd crooked bonedWhile…
Accustomed
I have grown built to wait silentlyTo be played with by someoneA green Army man with green rifleStanding on his…
Life Cycle
When I was a kid in HonoluluEvery funeral in town it seemedInvolved a huge motorcadeThat moved by in slow motion…
How did this cliché become a cliché?
If you’ve ever said that X is/was refreshingAnd you meant it seriouslyI wasn’t there to hear itAnd don’t actually know…
Ocean Meditation
A dazed light reflectionSun glinting on its fast free runUnleashed across the sky refractionArc of a bright bird winging onTo…
The Pink Piggy Bank
The gold sun slipsInto the thin horizon lineAnother day spentNot paid for but savedFilling a memory bankGrowing fatWith another coin…
Crapshoot
Marriage is on the tableReady to risk a rollComeA lot of actionAll sevensYou’re in heavenPerfect harmonyFeeling lucky as elevensOr don’t…
The Muse Knocks
While raking the yardI wonder what I mightWrite about today My neighbor’s black catBig BoyTears across my path And I…
Purchased for Research Purposes
They’re handcuffsCalled “wrist restraints”Made of leatherHe adds a “scandal flogger”Wonders about the tickle and the stingBuys these two for nowThey…
I Would Die for You
My love for you is a little likeA red, red rose — and moreIt’s a tornado in my brainEverything whirling…
Down and Gone
The first step out of thereFailing to memorize ten Bible versesOn every bus ride to confirmation classHumming rock songs in…
To Move On
She writes magic and wind sweepall graceful and rising angel voicesand as always in golden hoursshe sings herself most comfortin…
Small-Talk
You know I’m horrible at small-talkThis is what it’s like when it’s my turnHow I want to say something to…
Lanning Lee 