Problem or solution
Which side are you on
The ones that clings on to the right
Or hangs on to the wrong

Marching to a different beat
Or part of the crowd
Do you huff and puff and stomp your feet
When your told that's not allowed

Heads up on the copper penny
Or tails when they let you loose
I can't help but wonder if any
Which one are you

Do you raise your hand in question
Or sit and bite your tongue
Do you come up with all the answers
Or are you known for playing dumb

Do you often back the system
Or flow along the party line
Are you in need of some assistance
Is life rolling along just fine

Are you a shut in or a shut up
Do you applaud what's new
Are you a wrinkle in the old
Which one are you

Do you stand up for injustice
Fight for lowly right
Or sit still inside your cubicle
And check you facebook likes

Do you watch the world around you
Or does the world watch you
If you were told enough times
Would you accept it as the truth

Do you take the half that's given
And use it to improve
Are you abundant in what's missing
Which one are you

Maybe I'll hear your distinct funny laugh
even across murmurs and mechanical hums
in a subway in Singapore
       Maybe I'll find you  
behind smoke from exotic dishes cooking;
where the aroma of spices is wafting
up into the humid Indian air
       Maybe I'll see your sweet face
reflecting the colorful glows
of fireworks painting the night sky
in a fiesta in Mexico
       Maybe I'll come across you
at a sandy Guatemalan shoreline,
where the crashing waves
could add rhythm
to the poems that we make
       Maybe when I'm stranded
you'll tap on my car window
to help me out of a snowstorm in Canada
that your tropical skin hates
       Maybe we will share
the same park bench in DC
and we could contemplate all day
on our countries' intertwined histories
       Maybe we will
gasp in surprise
squeal in delight
and give each other
a tight handshake
a big high five
or maybe even
a warm embrace
       Maybe we live thousands or even
hundreds of thousands of miles apart
but one way or another
we will see each other again
        **I will make that a certainty

I.
with my hand clutching my heart,
i anxiously swept my feet across
the hallway lined with a hundred artworks,
only to discover at the very end
that mine was just
one place short of an award.

i run all the way back the long hallway
to hide teardrops in a dark lonely corner
until my father
came and gave me
a comforting embrace.
his strong hands patted me on the back,
my tears stained his crisp polo as
i buried my face in his chubby belly.
he told me
that i'm the greatest artist
and that no matter what
he loves me.

II.
seeds planted in me bloomed
into realizations
and those realizations bred feelings
and like a tidal wave
the sea of emotions
surged over me
and overflowed to my eyes
chest felt heavy and
my head felt light.

i made my way through the dark and crowded room
to my brother
and in front of all his friends
tackled him in a hug.
he scuffled my hair and locked me in his arms,
and i couldn't believe he hugged me back
instead of pushing me away.
he told me
that he was stupid
and that he was sorry.

III.
he held me back as everyone else went down
the winding staircase.
i knew too well that this day would come
but i injected myself with lies
that February can feel like forever.
but the truth prevailed
and the truth hurts.

our cheeks brush and blush.
he got me on the tips of my toes
and his thick sweater caught my tears
as we wrap each other in a long embrace.
i let go of him and dropped my hands
because the moment felt too right but
he hugged me tighter
and he swayed me
gently
   back and forth...
       back and forth...
           back and forth...
contrary
to the wild beat of my heart.
he told me
his final goodbye
and that he will miss me.