In the duel of love
many things are left undone
like my paper mask

Sunrise starts Summer,
Yellow, Orange, Red-
Life is color.

Noon is now in Fall,
Green, Pink, Tan-
Life is color.

Midnight soon freezes,
Blue, Black, Gray-
Life is color.

Now is Nothing,
Color gone-Empty world-
Life was color.

We laid in the grass
touching, kissing, holding.

In the background there was a song,
you dedicated it to me.

Little did you know that the major chords lift,
and the minor cords show the depths of melancholy.

Maybe you should have dedicated a different melody.

I live in a state of constant work,
Doing only what my elders say.

“Feed the chicken.”
I feed our only chicken.
“Milk the cow.”
I milk our only cow.

I live in a state of constant poverty,
Always needing, but never having.

“We don’t have enough food.”
I forgo food for my younger siblings.
“We don’t have enough cloth for your siblings and you to have new clothes.”
I wear my old, too-small clothes.

I live in a state of constant humbleness,
Never complaining, always helping.

“We aren’t going to get the crops in on time.”
I help bring in our meager crops.
“I’ll never have time to get your sisters ready.”
I get my sisters ready for the school I was never allowed to attend.

I’ve never wanted anything,
Yet the one time I ask for something, my parents forbid it.

“You can’t go out into the city! We need you here, not chasing some absurd dream!”
I calmly stare her down.
“Listen to me, girl. You walk out now, and you don’t come back. Ever. Is that clear?”
I nod and turn away from the only life I’ve ever known.

But now I can make a new life for myself.
Now I am free.

I'm so tiredI can't sleepSlipping deepInto that holeMy socks have holesIn all the heelsIt really feelsLike I'm floatingOn a boatOn the seaSail with meInto the sunWon't it be fun?Just you and IAnd the big blue skyClouds scudding byAcross the blueJust me and youUntil we're throughWith being usDon't make a fussIt won't be longUntil we're goneAnd this one songIs all that's leftOf you and IAnd that big blue sky

It's so beautiful when
Water catches fire
Embraces the flames
On its painted glass surface
The deep reds and oranges
Flickering
And the cool blues and greens splash
They mix together
For a few hours of magic
The air is just right
The trees blow and dance
As if in celebration
Of this impossible experience
Till the waves engulf the fire
And turn into a deep, thick
Pool of black.

Money, Success, Fame and Glamour
are the only things left to achieve,
anything else is pointless
and will only result in glee.