I think of Istanbul
Diary recalls beautiful memories
May peace prevail

I feel for Istanbul
breathe in a cup of cay
May happiness spread

Istanbul Magic
how many times it warmed me
My hope is with you

Poetry is emotion
Traveling  is a magician of intensity
How much should I hate my blood
to be able to love my own skin?

Istanbul—
came out of a picture book
Melody is eternal

Watering eyes
Istanbul carries my luggage
Magic is eternal

Token of presence
all what we’ve shared—
Memory is eternal

I hear the wave
to discover one
beneath my skin

A single day contained so many Journeys and the Stories
as if they were meant to meet.

And Baltimore,
you were the humble host
of all the Reunions.

Belgium,
Filling our stomachs and the time apart
Memories came to life and we smiled — Together

Sydney,
Talking to random seagulls between our conversations
I found a feather given by a fearsome friend

Geneva,
Learning how to pronounce a foreign word— Affogato
I imagined this is how life should taste

Yokohama,
Making fun of the sushi places hidden in the brick walls
My heart secretly traveled back home

Istanbul,
Discovering the colorful lamps
I thanked for kindnesses sent from different directions

Unexpectedly,
All the journeys took us back to the 5th grade,
picking up our favorites at a candy shop
— and I promised never to follow any strangers!

Baltimore,
You’ve taught me how it feels to grow up.
not being somebody else,
but sowing seeds in our moments,
good days and bad days,
— just like we gave a name and fell in Love
with every single corner of the Town.

Baltimore,
Let’s do it again.

Awaken the mind with wind
Inspire the world with words
Feel the sparkle while it lasts
Create the path like a true myth
Experiment life while alive
Love, beyond its wounds

Taste of adventure:
when i shared my vision
you inspired me to chart the map
Taste of freedom:
when i took off on the journey
you showed me the North Star
Taste of loneliness:
when i closed the door
you were my light
Taste of fear:
when i killed myself
you warmed my heart
Taste of quietness:
when i finally shared my secrets
your soul was by my side
Taste of a tear:
when i saw your pain
y!ou taught me how to feel
Taste of nostalgia:
when i found my passion
your influence was alive
Taste of friendship:
when i stepped into the world
your smile was under the sky
Taste of joy:
when i sparkled in her moment
you came to my mind
Taste of an adult:
when i found my heels in an autumn air
you are the one to thank
Taste of honesty:
when I met my demon
You, just embraced it

Half a year-
Still, I am on my journey
May you rest in peace

Steaming coffee mug
don’t rush, don’t goー
Let us pause the Sky

Moving with the Wind
Guided by the Blessings
Voyage never ends

Beyond the Summer
Beyond the Wave
Where the horizon melts

Beyond the Melody
Beyond the Memory
Where the healing begins

Beyond the Sky
Beyond the Hope
Where all the stories continue

Beyond the Mystery
Beyond the Misery
Where things will start making sense

Beyond the Fire
Beyond the Shadow  
Where I can talk to you

Step by Step
Light by Light
I want to be there

Al di la
Escape the eternity
— Beyond

Japanese garden
-like in Venezia-
getting lost
to find myself
again

After some months
The journey took me back
to the place where I used to belong

I used to call it an “expedition”
sharing life and stories with people
from different walks of life

Today, not knowing where I should go back
-after my visa expires-
I see everything in the distance

After taking a nap at the National Gallery of Art
I call my friends only to hear their voices
I can no longer see them, anywhere!
I wonder if all the people have disappeared
and new human beings were brought to the city.

I know the place, even how the streets cross,
But no longer the people!
RUN!
Run away from myself and catch up with myself
All at a time

Run up and run down
I want to
RUN!
I want to generate the wind
so that I can feel it.

“Who are you?” & “how are you”
I need to
RUN!
I need to discover myself
so that I can live my life

Run to destroy the balance,
Run to twist the reality,
RUN!
Run to cherish the moment,
Run to belong!

My marathon took me to the DuPont Circle
There, something remained the same
Memories and metaphors
Encounters and farewells
Moments were preserved for me
with slightly different taste

Finally,
I sat before the dawn
Under the map of Washington D.C.
trying to tell a story of my life
I’ve been running through

The departure,
That felt like a release from a hospital
was just a beginning of another departure

I wonder how a dead can travel
but I’m feeling you
All along my journey

Traveling from Asia to Europe,
I’ve always felt you in the clouds
Sometimes, in an train compartment
In the wind in Trieste,
And then saw you
Touch the sea, la mala

but I did not who you are
Until I found myself following two figures
Strolling off into the sunset

It’s easy to say it is making me who I am
But hard to live on an emptiness,
On a lost memory.
Hence, I refuse to understand the language
that only delivers solitude.

Coffee cup caught my tear
That actually did not come out
My pen shakes with its emotions
And this is how I’m accepting the reality
-quiet reflection of a lost life

The night between 6 and 7
Has a magical power.

First,
it came as a nightmare
separating my body & soul.
I used to float above my body
Asking for help.

Running in the midnight
Trying to fix the balance,
I saw a slight change in her eyes.

November,
everybody was there
like 6 and 7.

December revealed the truth
and January was a teacher
of a source of love.

February, in a fairy tale
March, a treasure box
and April showed me what to appreciate.

In every 6 and 7,
I’ve had so many teachers—
like a conversation
with an unheard voice
6 and 7

Numbers, Colors, bodies and souls
Inseparable relationship
of my 6 and 7

Medication:
melting my secret
inside of me

I have a Magic
and I feel it
everyday.

I received it
when I was the most
scared

It always tells me
to have faithー
everything will be alright.

I hold it
as I go to
sleep

It stays with me
until the pain
passes away
and protects me
from sufferings.

I soak myself in it
when the worry come
and thank for it
when I find myself in happiness
which will also go away.

It wears
Summer fragranceー
it’s color is changing
But I don’t want to forget
its tenderness

The Magicー
it is a warmth
that I can always feel
ー just for myself

long restless journey
found a place to sleep in
---an empty coffee cup

self introduction:
trying to remember
who I was

when there are
two road signs
that contradict
each other
indicating
the same way

Catch the air
Conquer the moment
Feeling myself in Judo

old postcard:
failed to travel
preserves my feelings

One day I made an escape to the night
ended up being in a convenience store
found a ticket without destination

thought the train would take me to a little farm
but… it was heading to the different direction
with a glass of milk in my hand

the milk tasted differently from one I used to drink
realized that i hadn’t said good bye to anyone in my town
the glass was trying to hold up with the speed

a compartment felt like in-between the reality and the dream
thought I’d received your phone call only the wind was there
thought I’d seen you talking about me never did
thought I’d ordered a pizza for you never arrived

I was floating in my dream which was so fragile
but I should be walking in my life which may be so tough

after a long sleep
somebody tapped my shoulder
saying it’s the final stop

unexpectedly, it was the place I started off
the milk was gone
only the morning air knows how it tasted

Heading to the rainbow
---we are the one
on the same boat

How does it feel to lose something
that has already been missing in your life?

I see you often in my dream
sometimes we are travelling together
and other times you are just watching me
somewhere around the corner

I realized I haven’t talked to you
for such a long time
When was the last time we had a conversation?
on your funeral? Maybe, but I cried too much

Last time, you told me,
You’ve been playing a bad joke
and it was a different guy sleeping in your coffin
But I saw your face, and even collected your bones, parts of your dead body

Are you alive or dead?
Am I living in a bad dream or just having a bad dream?
Perhaps both are ture
All I know is
our path have crossed and will cross again

Monsters have crashed
we laid the clock naked
even the gravity smiled

BOARDING COMPLETEDー
Nostalgia hurts (intense & pleasant)
Memories sparkle and fade away

A WORD is
an detective
to follow an unpredictable future
it travels ahead
And help me pave the way
so that I can get where I want to be

and is
a visitor
sent from my future
to check on
how I’m doing
so that I can become whom I want to be


A WORD is
a prophet
from my past
its gift arrives  
when I get lost
so that I can remind myself where I’ve come from

and is
an editor
of all the stories
it adds meanings
to what I’ve experienced
so that I can remind myself whom I’ve become

What have you given me?
Confidence, sore & pride
Think I can carry them all.

imagination travels
till I hear you say
“feelings are mutual”

Old times are back
with a faint hope
I wish to start over

6 and 7
Memories prevail
Somewhere between
6 and 7

Travel Freely-
My Soul returns to the Universe
Each night, when I go to sleep

I keep it
as a memory/ 7 months
with smiles

I take our medication
ーlittle reminder
of your existence

Taste of future:
when my gift arrives at your door step
will you receive it with open arms?