she leaves her phone
and ipad lying around
unlocked not realizing
how tempting they are
to mischievous souls
but she’ll learn quickly
when an appointment
with “booger” appears
later this week and
be reminded again
when a different notice
to find me a birthday
present shows up
early next year
Monthly Archives: October 2013
risk averse
a dear dear friend
who often runs
cost-benefit analyses
at work (and at home)
says i need to go out
and fail spectacularly
costs be damned
i think she’s ready
for a career change
next year
they’re planning a trip
for sometime next year
to the only place mom
ever wants to “vacation”
thought that might change after
ma died a few years ago
but i was wrong
i’ve been three times
every three years since ’03
it’s been almost four
since the last trip
when i made sure
to get lots of pictures
and videos of ma
i have a clip of her
saying “hello” and “okay”
in english and complaining
in khmer about how
her mouth isn’t used to
making such strange sounds
i don’t know if i want to
go this time and visit
the chedey i’ve only seen
in pictures to say goodbye
maybe i’d rather rewatch
the video of the two of us
exchanging “hello”s
you know that too
in case
you ever
come across
something
you don’t
already have
a key for
the password
is your name
change of plans
the sun was just
dipping below
the costco roof
and the western sky
was an unblemished
hazy half peach
split by sharp horizon
i was on my way in
intent on quickly
getting a hotdog
and more than a
backward glance
on my way out
but the glowing
low hanging
almost perfect
moon in the east
made me forget
about chasing
the afterglow
the gist of it
she asked
what is the worst
that can happen?
listened to
the reply
then asked
what the hell
is wrong with you?
for a walk
says he hates that dog
always barking at strangers
and forgetting friends
as soon as they stand up
or sit down or leave
and return five seconds later
says it still pees everywhere
inside the house sometimes
and has trouble remembering
all the commands it’s been taught
says he wishes it were more
like the other one, older
indifferent, just like a cat
he says all this as he calls
the dog “good boy” and
scratches its neck and back
as he clips on leashes
to take them all for a
walk around the block
new crop
i picked out that
beautiful braeburn
because it was
making me salivate
all stretch marked
with streaks of
vibrant autumnal
reds and oranges
masking all but
a touch of green
and (as i later discovered)
a different sort
of saliva inducing
make your
eyes squint
teeth ache
kind of sour
time
time passes
far too quickly
when we begin
to mark it
by the ages
of our children
we used to
go years without
seeing each other
reuniting as if
no time had
gone by
it’s been less
than a year
since i’ve seen
your son but
already it feels
so much longer
confluence
i know i’ve been
spending too much time
on my khmer lessons
when i hear you
and automatically
translate it
to “long” as in
amount of time
which makes me smile
because i already
associate you
with forever
loosing the binds 