repetition

You know you really
love something
when repetition
feels fresh.

fickle pickle

If you don't like my pickle,
you should fickle off.

Because it is an acquired taste
and it is NOT for everyone.

beard envy

If I
had a beard
as long as my hair
I would climb
green cars
and write

about
         joy
         war
         trust
         love
         fear
         lust
         death
         life
     
but I have yet
to grow a beard and
the wisdom.

teamwork

Summer of 1996.

Our parents were NOT amused.

eye-candy

All his poor wife wanted was some Gaspard eye-candy.

But really, it makes me feel fuzzy-wuzzy when I see couples trying hard to keep their relationships alive - especially in a world (and city) like this.

spinach

Spinach is so cheap in Flushing.
This is the equivalent of four spinach "salads" in Manhattan.

나물 (namool) > salad. Literally.

bruises

I found a paint-mark on my knee
which I rubbed furiously
only to realize:
it was actually a bruise.

We all have a bruise or two
that we ignore
to carry on
with life and its chores.

dinner

He looked so happy
on the ground
reading his book,
so serene, so confident.

I wanted to ask him
what he was eating
but he was in his zone
so I let him be.

If you find
a wall you like
don't hesitate, just sit.
And take a bite.

actually, this IS a pipe.

Magritte (my love) put a
poster on my wall
he believes
this is not a pipe at all.

So I walk over
to this pipe of mine
and take a sniff -
it smells so fine.

"This IS a pipe,"
I tell Magritte
"it smells like my dad -
I'm sure of it."

CD queen

I was SO distracted I almost fell off my bicycle.

But in all seriousness, she's right - ipods ARE overrated.

mother

Whenever I squeeze my arm
I am flooded
with thoughts of my
mother.

How I would
snuggle beside her
after Kindergarten -
drifting asleep
holding her arm
so soft
so tender
between my little hands.

I knew
that as long as I squeezed
her arm

I would dream 

only pretty dreams

and wake up

to a happy sky. 

Tonight 

I lay alone in bed

squeezing my own arm
as my five-year-old heart
yearns
for her mother. 

two hairy-legged men eating mulberries

Two hairy-legged men

eating mulberries from a tree, 

they offer me a few

they tell me they're juicy.

But all that plagues my mind

are sentiments of doubt: 

what if they're poisonous...

what if they're dirty... 

And as I stand there, being

cynical

afraid

safe

the two hairy-legged men

eat more mulberries from a tree, being

trusting

merry

free.

special view

The only thing

that makes this view

special is

what i am thinking

what i am feeling

what i am dreaming

at this particular moment

on this particular spot.

rain tea

An ideal rainstorm:
you and I
standing outside
side by side
drinking cup
after cup
of rain
tea.

flicker

If my memories of you
were a light
it would flicker
day and night.

Just weak enough
not to blind,
just strong enough
not to die.

To kill it
I will cease to try
for this light of ours
will flicker
by and by.

toilet talk

'The comb and the mirror
look like stickers on the bathroom wall...'
is what I thought
as I sat on my bathroom stall.

lips of apricot

Inside my mirror are
my lips of apricot
that trap me
in a limbo
between
woman
and
girl.

smoking in soho

He placed himself on his fire escape.

I placed myself on the pavement.

He took out his cigarette.

I took out my sketchpad.

fishbowl sea

We are sailing
on a green paper-boat,
in a fishbowl sea.

We are floating above
the pink and orange fishes
that swim
as if they're free.

We know
that one cannot be free
in a fishbowl sea
but we don't worry
for this sea is part of an
ocean
that we will reach
eventually.

making bubbles

The only fun thing about doing the dishes is that I get to make bubbles.

Lots of them.

in the way

Rooftop Films was amazing. Stunning venue, stunning films.

But there was something VERY not amazing about the situation I was in.

This perky-haired girl and long-haired guy just invited themselves over and sat RIGHT down in front of me!

The girl was clearly not aware of how perky her hair was.

I was quite annoyed (and so were my toes).

cabbage

I love cabbage.

Except I like calling it 양배추 because "cabbage" does not do this vegetable justice.

not reading

There was a lady at Rizzoli today who wore a polka-dotted blouse with a light-blue sweater.

She was NOT reading.

as you fly away

quirks

We all have quirks - is the epiphany I had in the shower this morning. 

For example, when nobody is looking, I only like to take photos of the right side of my face.