Bamboo spine
bones and all,
stand tall

Soak up the
sour & the sweet

Remove yourself from
soil so dry

Plant your body
& your soul
in self-loving hands

Sway with the wind
but remember to
create your own someday

Nurture your warmth
don't let it die  

You are free to grow
in this landscape.

Remind your mind's eye.
This is your time.

Farewell my lonely friend
Should I apologize?
As you welt and bend
You're dead now
Gone with my luck
burnt out

Farewell
For I did not care
But now I sense a difference
There's sadness in the air
You were alone most of the time
I'd complain to you
But never hear your desperate cries

I should have cared
But I was never even there
I'm sorry my little green friend
I'm sorry that this is how you meet your end.

shallow creeper
blindly seeks
subterranean passage
horizontal
push and ******
fingered shoots
in compliant ground

purple sword
arcs skyward
a deception
yet to unfurl
gold to conceal
the tangle
underneath

perennation
in unfavorable
seasons
propagates
subversive
perpetual
regeneration

The views from Qing Xiu Shan are very nice
and I am feeling better than I did this morning
the Yong River winds through green fields
the breeze fills my lungs
my thoughts rustle like bamboo leaves
a southern tranquility rises in the distance
covered by the opaque morning
this is what my mind's eye sees
as I rock my little girl to sleep
kissing the forehead
that will never be without a kiss
until my lips are still
like the peaceful day we yearn for

Bamboo shoots grow all two quickly only to diverge two soon.
Resilience comes not easily but is learned, whether rooted in
Earth, rock, sand we have learned to grow through our fears.
Are the hazards of growth greater than the ease of departure?
Keep this in mind, for I do two.

Us. That is something I will fight for,
Planted shallow are the roots, sanguinely sowing steadier

-AM

i
how like a napping innocent
the song was stolen away
when i my reason bribed
could not find where i belonged.
a patch is made of unrimed rime
and *** by *** it tore away
telling awhile
never will, you may.
i groped. you lingered
you waned. i waited.
when i would
to the solitude of
the rocks have gone
alas!
i found,
the singer of the song.

ii
bend bamboo
to the gusts and gails
that sweep, sweep.
swing back to whirl again
as the winds its fancy bend
so do – ne’er complain.
on windy ludes
so low you bow
after you kissed
the earth below
embrace you the sun.
sing now you violins
the rustles of enchantment
of dancing toes
it’s a mellow melody
… lingers on…

iii
useless are
the wings of birds
if the wide and brimless sky
to them are yet untold.
if none to care
and none to pine
how can a sign
of triumph bare
as birds and sky
as twains do share?

iv
full moon and empty arms
for every setting sun?
i fled thy silvern chatter
of vanished cries
and curling past.
suns have gone now.
and seeking never find.
no moon and empty arms
but when were you
not starbeam
and when not star
not beam.
if you could be
but how!
if you could see
but now!

v
came here, but,
did not tarry long.
a handful of sand
a greedy grip
a clutch, and,
through the fingers slip
till naught is left
but an empty grip.
she is come
know i
when gone.

I stand with pride, I know it all
Though you can see, I bow, I fall
Whenever wind whispers my name
I bend my knees but stay the same

Whatever life would offer me
I will accept but I'm still free
I know how odd, it's like a game
I bend my knees but stay the same

The joy life brings would make me smile
Though sadness gazes for a while
When there's a will, just keep the flame
I bend my knees but stay the same

When sorrow's there to walk with me
Eyes are open to let me see
I'll still walk through yet like a lame
I bend my knees but stay the same

When sunbeam's there to scorch my skin
I wouldn't runaway or shin
I'll walk with pride but not with fame
I bend my knees but stay the same

When rain is there to stay with me
I'll never cry for I can see
It comes to heal, care for my name
I bend my knees but stay the same

That's how I live, how strong I am
Though storms may pass, though troubles come
I am still me, I'm on my frame
I bend my knees but stay the same.