She’s into ravens and dragons,
charms, prayers and spells.
Enchantment and mystery,
spirits and fantasy.
Phantom and magic,
dreams and stardust.
She’s into fascinating connections,
rituals and meditations.
She gives thanks to the sun,
the stars and the moon.
She trusts patience and love.
She adores understanding souls,
She’s into all these
and a thousand things more.

And then there’s something tantamount to this sunbeam in these bleary times—
the wildflowers, which grow everywhere in their own paradise;
a kindergartner running by herself even a few feet away from her friends, picking dandelions,
still with a sunny smile.
The ray of light shining through the window of isolation rooms as a sign of hope from heaven.
Sparks will still flow within our hands.
To still feel the everlasting warmth of sunshine.
The light we needed to surpass this cloudy shadow of our current circumstance.

I hear the sound of prayers in the ocean waves.
I hear the echoes of hope in the winds.
I hear the trees and the flowers sing
affection and grace.
I hear my heart,
I hear the melody of faith deep within.

Longer sleepless evenings
Humid, dark, and bleak
Serene and sorrowful homes
Blossoming sakura trees weep
With heavyhearted lonely buds
Spring, unforgettable saddest spring
Trees not lovelier and so are fields
Nor the day more delightful than the evening
These unhappy blooms in pink
Signal a different kind of grief

She’s poetry and scars,
blossoms and thorns,
diamonds
and shards of a shattered glass,
a siren who scatters love like fairy dust.

I woke to a soft morning light
filtered through my pink curtains
and the neighbor’s heater vibrating in my ear
And through my window
saw snowflakes carefree dancing
in a radiant and romantic rapeseed field
Warmed by the scent of brewing coffee
and lovely thoughts of you
This magical sea of yellow
adorned by tiny lacy flurries
Let me forget the freezings that I’ve felt
and the dimness that I’ve seen

I wonder why I don’t see the beauty and the sparkles of the blossoming cherry trees.
Why I don’t feel the joy hearing the songs of the birds near me.
All I see now is the surge of political hypocrisies.
Blames and hatred ignited by partisan politics fueled by cruelty of humanity.
I thought I was part of the world filled with love, light, and beauty.  
But I am now in the midst of uncertainty,  
where cooperation, unity, and solidarity among people are indeed illusory.
Everything now seems dark, cloudy, gloomy.
Stigma, racism, discrimination, and xenophobia,
the ugliness of humanity.
This crisis tests our capacity to understand, to overcome.
I am now sitting quietly in darkness to transform my fear to trust humanity,
To have patience and slowly erase anxiety.
I am trying to continually believe that we all live under the same glow and glitter of the sun.
And that though we may even have different rivers and mountains,
we still speak the same language.
The language of peace and harmony, the language of love and shared humanity.
I am looking forward soon, on the very day when we humans wake up to a new reality.
With our helpful hands, open arms and compassionate heart, shining each other’s  journey.

I feel tired
not because I have done a lot.
I feel tired because I know I have done a little
...to teach myself to realize that it’s OVER.

Your words are like flowers
blooming for the first time
in the early days of spring.
Charming
Mesmerizing
Glorious
Like the light pink pretty petals spilling into the winds,
whispering intensity and sweetness.
I find myself blushing and gliding.
With your rhymes sending me into a lovely realm,
I am now in your fairyland.

We silently communicate
in the middle of chaos
Understanding one another
With true love between our souls
As we embrace each other in the solitude

How could you stay
so happy like that
For you know, I’m so far
It’s been quite long
since we became miles away
I won’t forget your loving ways
Thanks for making me so alive

Tonight, the stars and the moon shine
so bright upon me
And I say, I’m missing you
Oh, please understand
why we are apart
Oh, please bear with me
Because I really need to make you feel
this love of mine
And even though I’m so far
I’d try to light a candle for us
Oh! For us, for us for us
And even I’m here alone
I’d try playing our song
For us, for us, for us

And I hope that in your dreams
You would feel
That I have your body near
my arms while we’re dancing dear
And I pray to see my life with you
I hope it’s soon
Because I’m tired of dancing
on my own

And tonight, the stars and the moon
shine upon me
And I say, I’m truly missing you
Oh please understand, why we are apart
Oh, please bear with me
Because I really need to make you feel 
 this love of mine
And even though I’m so far
I’d try to light a candle for us
Oh! For us, for us,for us
And even I’m here alone
I’d try playing our song
For us, for us, for us

But I’m so afraid
Because for months now
The candle’s spark is getting weak
Like your love
That I used to know
And what I only ask
I beg, oh please
Don’t let our love go
Don’t let our dreams fade
For us, for us, for us

And as the winter cold magically makes ice crystals, we watch the grass glistening with frost.
Knitted scarves and woolen coats,
plus our knotted fingers braved  the cold.
You held my hands and erased the chaos buried deep under my skin.
And took me in your arms, held me close for a moment, and planted a light kiss on my nose.
I felt the firmness of your touch, the passion and love came rushing from within.
And as nature freezes and sees our love while
I yielded in the intensity of your kiss.
You covered my scars and held me close until my fear left my entire soul.

And she painted the sky with her poetry
Calm but misty
Still dark and heavy

And yes, it’s almost over,
Countless things, I will remember.
The glitters and the sparkles,
Prolong your stay, just so I wish.
But then again what I am sure,
You’ll wander back more beautiful.
Goodbye for now, my feathered leaves.
I bid farewell,
I would try hard not to shed a tear.
Farewell my friend,
my lovely Autumn friend.
Thank you for lending me your golden wings.

Each day, I always try to count the flowers.
And each night, I would not miss
to count the stars.
And when I just couldn’t find many flowers in fall or in winter,
I still try to count the fallen leaves
and even the branches of the trees.
And during nights when the stars will not come,
I would slowly try to count
the lunar rays instead.
The flowers and the stars,
the trees and the moon,
Gave me inspiration and wisdom,
enough shelter and strength.
To help me emerge victorious
from each phase of my journey with grief.
But how many times do I have to feel
that I am always back to where I’ve started?
How long does it take to stay in this dead end that trapped me?
Yes, I am once again in this labyrinth.  
I walk its path—day after day, night after night, back and forth, in and out.
The recurrence, triggered memories,
the deeper layers,
the unending winding circular path.
And now I crave for solitude and rest,
solace and insight.
I need my energy and my inner self back.
And as I stood in my own labyrinth
staring at the orange leaves falling from a tree,
My steps began again,  slowly finding me.
I continued to make more steps
as the leaves started to fall around me.  
The leaves scattered in front of me represent
the losses and sad memories.
And as I felt the slightest breeze
released many of them from their branches,
I have found
just enough love and faith to sustain me.

After lengthy days of torment and grief
Braving the cold, remained the last leaf
Feeling the slightest breeze
She slowly danced with grace and ease
Like a ballerina driven by the sound of her heartbeat
She made her final dance
And with her gorgeous golden autumn wings
She’s now ready for winter’s frigid embrace

Seasons do not compete with one another;
neither does the night’s magical brilliance of the moon rival with the gorgeous majestic sunrise.
The persistent, melodious rains do not clash with the rainbow’s splendor.
Nor the dreamy perfumed clouds race with the joyful, pleasant winds.
Beautiful things happen in the right perfect time.

Everything I see now is like a dream
And as colors began to fade
Their souls started to merge
as what autumn and winter did
Slowly creating a wonderful moment
A beautiful image
Like a rainbow after the rain

I am trying to find the proper time to write
the ending that I have tried to forget.
Just allow me to re-read the past chapters that made our story beautiful.
In time, I would be able to transform the pain of our past into a wonderful  epilogue.

Enjoying nature’s poetry,
written in vivid colors.
Each leaf speaks to me
in tints of red and gold.
Red leaves of the maple trees
share lovely memories.
A hopeful dream’s etched
on the golden leaves
of the ginkgo trees.
Trees of brilliant colors
softly humming in chorus.
The beauty of autumn,
the gathering of vibrant hues.
Nature’s imperfection and beauty,
Life and nature’s harmony,
Together, they work wonderfully.
Nature’s visible glories and life’s reality,
Us, our colors inside
as humans,
the mere reflection of our humanity.
What beauty it is to embrace
our magnificent colors within us!
There’s no vibrant
and luminous color,
other than forgiveness,
love, compassion
and kindness
deep within ourselves.

We are two hearts
unafraid of the winter days,
For ours is an Autumn Love,
a new beginning,
we happily embrace.
Though the leaves have changed
and soon will fall,
Our Autumn Love turned fiery red
and yellow gold.
The warmth of our love,
so hopeful and new.
Like autumn, bright and colorful.
And as we begin to feel
the bite of the autumn air,
That signals that the harsh winter
is just around the corner,
We held hands and buried our fears
deep down the ground
beneath the fallen leaves.
We now carry within us the magic,
the promise of a new and vibrant love.
Forgiveness and love,
Love and forgiveness.
And I’m so glad, our hearts
found our way back home,
We’re just people,
We are people, beautiful in our fall.

Find me in the reddening
October trees of autumn.
Read the poetry I carved on their branches.
Each falling leaf will lead you closer to the most hidden parts of me.

She decorated
her pain and her misery
with red fallen leaves

My heart went missing for days.
For how long, I couldn’t remember.
I’m sure it followed the long and jagged road
of my past.
And as it slowly trying to collect the pieces of important memories, it thought I had left behind,
my heart was led to a dead end
and a huge road sign.
Wrong way.
I’m now patiently waiting for my heart
to come back soon.
I hope it can remember its way home.

I envy the trees.
When they remain proud to face the world
even with nothing left on them.
Even standing bare, alone facing the unknown.
I envy the trees.
Standing brave even in their most vulnerable state with just a few brown leaves
clinging on them.
Even when everything has fallen away.
I envy the trees.
When they rely on the strength of their roots
to withstand any thundering storm.
And patiently wait for the new leaves to grow and new buds to bloom.
Each time the seasons pass, I hope, like the trees,
I will grow into a more beautiful and better version of myself.
And I’m hoping to realize soon
that holding on could not build my strength.
And that sometimes letting go would make me strong.

Beauty of autumn
   As I watch the sunset fades
    Yellow, mellow, gold

I just thought that I have left your memories ashore and buried them deep under the sand.
But they were carried by the waves again
in the middle of the ocean.
Here where I am trying to find
and rebuild myself.
Waves of longing and regrets are crushing
my sail.
I’m now swimming, drowning in nostalgic pain.
I dived deep within your memories
and finally found my heart.
I held my precious heart, stayed afloat
and saw a glimpse of my own horizon.
Though self-forgiveness and peace
are yet far to be reached.
I still have my strength.
And I promise not to drown again.

Her heart hungers for the essence of her being.
She continues to search for enlightenment
and peace.
Thousands of heartaches and trials,
she met along the path of finding herself.
She carves out time every single day to reflect.
Then she realized.
There’s no need to search outside herself
for answers.
She found the answers
where she found the questions.
She found the answers inside herself.
Meaning is what makes one’s misfortune worthwhile.
The storm came to teach her how to sail
and she continues to catch the wind.
Confronting the ocean’s of life moment after moment,
she found the strength to leave her past
to the shores
and just brought the lessons she has learned.
Then out she sails for her new horizons ahead.

Sometimes the simplest of things spark memories.
Memories of great importance in our lives.
Every moment and each event in our past planted something important in our soul.

I know that we took the wrong roads,
But come on, hold my hands
and let’s find a place to turn around.
It’s not too late.
Let’s not give up.

I earned your contempt just
because I did not march to your music.
You sentenced me to hell
because I did not sing with you.
You even questioned my social philosophy
and even my religious conviction.
I will not ever return the hate and the contempt.
But however many holy words you speak, read, write and believe; it is useless unless you value human service and kindness.

To teach, to help a stray animal, to smile and assist a stranger, to work for your family, to plant trees, to give to the needy—these activities do not need explanation about theology.
Every one of these just needs anyone of us,
as humans—to reach out, to give a lending hand,
to care and to believe in the existence of faith and humanity.

I had mistakes, wrong choices, troubles, failures, losses and fears in the past that taught me lessons and flared my passion
to seek spiritual guidance.
I went astray but I listened to my inner voice that helped me back on track.
I’d still probably be in the darkness had I not known how to cultivate my emotional side.
The guides, the path, the doors
will be different for all of us.
But a lot of our spiritual encounters happen in the ordinariness of our daily life.

My spiritual moments have not just happened when I closed my eyes.
They happened when I cuddled my kindergarten students in school and when I watched the water flows in the river
and the birds sing.
They continue to happen when I do long distance parenting and do  
my duty as a mother,
when I smile and greet my neighbors
and even when I admire colors everywhere.

The world has many colors my dear,
beautiful colors and I have the profoundest respect to even the bleakest and the lightless.
Let us be inspired by the plants who come together and thrive peacefully in a garden.
Let’s see beyond our beliefs and differences and embrace each other’s colors and uniqueness to add beauty to our existence.
My friend, the way we give the gifts of faith, humanity, kindness, friendship and love to the people around us is how we save the world.

She loved and valued others
as exactly as they are.
Then proudly watched them as they changed to the truest and best versions of themselves.

She made her crown out of thorns and broken things and built a castle in her ruins
and became a forgiving queen.

I know my name was written in your heart
for sometime.
And I wore your vow and promises in my finger for so long.
Promises that I thought
can not be broken into pieces
and can be forever kept.
My heart still speaks softly of our past love
and the old hurts.
But your memory taught me
what I needed to know.
The greatest lesson of my life,
to realize who I am not,
who I once was,
and who I’m always meant to be.

She held my hands and brought me
to the moon.
As wanderer in the silver sky,  
a silent observer of the lantern of darkness,
she brought with her,
her memory of heavy past.
But the moon just watched and remained silent.
She understood the moon’s message,
“There is light and darkness within us,
just love and cherish life.”
I enjoyed the night’s magic and significance.
As I watched her hues and
smelled her fragrance.
Her smile mirrors the brightness and mystery of the moon.  
Though her eyes reflect her darkness
and imperfections.
With the luminous moon,
she shimmered beyond the clouds.
On a night journey that I won’t forget,
a magical moment with my lunar angel.

And she turned chaos to magic.
She made her shattered pieces a beautiful art.

Her eyes sparkled with delight
as she rambled in her yellow dress
woven by the sun.
She giggled as she began to ascend the narrow path to her fairyland.
She stopped to admire the wildflowers
starting to pop along her favorite trail.
She reached her destination
proudly with a smile.
The woods opened its arms wide
while the river embraced her tight.
She gazed at the red spider lilies scattered
on the ground.
She remembered what she read
about the equinox flowers in front of her.
The red blanket of color means death,
sadness and loss.
That thought suddenly turned the red color
to a tinge of nostalgia, separation and pain.
Then she looked closely at the gorgeous landscape.
With a fine day and a cool weather,
the thick grasses gladly held
the dancing fireballs.
She then realized that the bright red flowers beautifully blossomed after the rains.
They were proud warriors
who appeared from the underworld.
Tough and virtuous, they marched
and tried to reach the bluest sky.
The radiating blooms brought her peace, passion, tranquility and strength.
With the red spider lilies as nature’s enchanting signal that summer is coming to an end.
She let go of the grief and resentment.
The red flares set her free,
that life is just what it is meant to be.
She let go of the pain and sadness.
With love and faith, the red spider lilies marked the coming of her favorite season.
A promise of a new horizon and a testimony of joy after a raging storm.

I  have drown in love and caged repeatedly.
But I’ve broken the chains of captivity.
Recovering from a tidal wave of emotions,freeing my inner fire and energies,
I now return with strength with a pen
and a scrap of paper with me.
I have run into chaos, fear, self-doubt
and uncertainty.
For I anchored my motivation and confidence
in my flaws, my scars and pain.
With glimpses of memories that just farewelled,
I’ve got my new story to write.
I’m allowing my fear and self-love to co-exist.
And with an aching soul and a bruised heart
still to heal.
I now let my horizons of certitude confidently sail into undiscovered creative seas.

I’m feeling the earth’s rhythm under my feet.
Without you, I’ll ****** all stars that I can reach.

And so I tear the last love letter you gave me and decided to let it go.
I stand and watch as the gusty winds blow the paper far away.
The promises of love and forever,
the vow of happily ever after,
the guarantee of a lifetime together.
The commitment of faith and the covenant of love that I kept too long.
I stare at each tiny piece of paper  swallowed by the violent sky.
I’m left alone.
Yes, I’m left alone with just a memory.
I’m left alone.
But I’m left alone with a smile and a promise of a new me.
A new me without you.
A new hope for a new story.
For I’ve already thrown my past behind.
And I’ve let go of my hope for your return.
Slowly and one step at a time, I’m moving on.
I am moving forward without you.
While waiting to be held by the right hands.

I have always thought of you as a battle I needed to win.
But, are you a war worth fighting?

You calmed my heart with your words that sound like angelic hymns
Your unconditional love took me out of my own labyrinth
Thank you for your miracle of love
You have healed my broken wings

In times when she feels crushed and broken,
she would watch the tiny messengers of hope.
The fireflies’ magical sparks remind her that even a little light can shine in darkness.
And when she’s completely torn into bits
that’s difficult to piece together,
she would look up to the sky and stare at the little messengers of life.
The stars remind her that she can still radiantly shine even in pieces.