a poem wrote me
almost before I knew.
my hand my mind my pen
just a muse
for sentiment that oozes
like sap from a tree
after Winter harsh and cold
has just released the grip
of icy fingers
melting into Spring.
a poem wrote me
while hungry earth
beneath my feet
waited for the sugar
nourishing seeds
growing the flowers
to prove that life goes on.
my life goes on
because a poem writes me
still.

At Vernal equinox, the Sun crosses
over the plane of the Earth’s equator
and equalises the night and the day.
Then will the Emerald Dragon awaken
from his hibernation beneath the earth.
Rising in the jade forests of Ghizhou,
this yin creature transforms the cold, dead land.
Primal and powerful, he gathers the Qi;
melts the mountain snows to ribbons of fire
igniting the frosty hillsides to growth,
fuses each thing with verdant energy,
revives again the seed, renews the bulb,
sprouting tender shoots juice-rich and sap-full
Shy blossoms set to bloom and burst with fruit
Fresh scented breezes ruffle foliage
maiden ferns shiver with their thrill and ******
Grasses and reeds bedewed and beryline,
murmuring and humming low and dulcet,
dancing and swaying at the river’s edge.
Roots of every tree draw deep from the earth
Magnolia and Frangipani breathe
and pant out fragrant honeyed lusciousness
Spring sparks and quickens, kicks and is alive.

© M.L.Emmett

Hey! Do you remember me?
Because I remember you. The girl with the sunkissed cheeks that were as rosy as mine the first time I tried to forget.
Well I guess I should say each time, because that smile that rests in between those cheeks still hurts.
I don't like that hurt.
I try to drown the fire burning me up from the inside with more fire, hoping it wont hurt so bad anymore.
Hey, do you remember the first time you told me you loved me?
I want to say it happened.
I would like to say it happened.
I wonder if it happened.
Maybe it was something I felt but never recieved like the apology when you took a piece of me with you, without even leaving a note on the refrigerator.
And to this day, I wonder what piece that was.
I wonder if the fridge magnet with the picture of both of us that you took wouldve spelled it out.
Hey do you remember when we first met?
I can't remember anymore.
I remember a couple books and lots of blank stares, the sound of an air conditioner that barely worked.
That smile got me every time.
I remember when I first saw you and thought I knew where rainbows came from.
Or where ice cream comes from.
Where all things good come from!
Hey do you remember when I asked you what kind of music you listened to?
And you said everything.
And I said hey me too! Even though it probably wasn't really true.
Hey did you feel something when you left?
Did you feel like maybe you messed up?
Did you ever think you were okay but a couple hours later you find yourself under the covers feeling like nothing can help the spinning walls in your room that howl how they miss you?
Like that feeling where you feel like you forgot something, then convince yourself you have everything, and then a while later realize what you forgot and how stupid you are for not realizing?
Hey do you miss my rambling?
You said it made you laugh.
That you would never get tired of it.
Hey do you miss me?
I really miss you. Not often. But it comes and goes like the way everyone does, I guess.
I'm getting used to it.
I wish people would stay.
Hey do you think that this time, maybe just maybe, you could stay?