Author’s Note: I watched Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson” again for my introduction to literature course, and it kind of set something echoing. A beautiful movie about exactly what I am trying to do: tiny attempts, words, poems. So I wrote this one: Paterson’s morning begins with a bowl of Cheerios and a boxful of Ohio Blue-tip matches….
Tag: Poetry
Ashes
I wonder what it would be likeFor my ashes to be scatteredNo, for me to be scattered as ashesFor all the memories I can’t rememberTo come to the surface (becauseI’m all surface now). Eyes closed,I can see Davey’s living room. Grey carpet,Computer on the table towards the backStaircase on the right. Such a blandFirst memory….
The Self-Care Collision
We talk a lot about self-care here. We’re all aware of how important it is, and as we’ve developed our policies and worked with writers, we’ve emphasized that every one of us needs to take the time for self-care. To set boundaries. To be honest about how they’re feeling. And perhaps most of all, to…
The Beauty of Rough Edges
Little Cat was rooting around in some old pile of things today, and what he found surprised him. Lately, Little Cat is used to being the co-star of a bunch of three-cell comics with thought bubbles and a little signature in the corner. But what he uncovered was something older. A series of one-cell memes…
Two Every-Night Poems
The Hair Hunt Every night, before bed,I hunt down the silver strands Right in the middle of my headWhere famous Freddy from the Causeway Bay salonMakes the stylish divide. They sneak out as a suicide squadOf five or sixmembers Proudly present themselvesAt the height ofTwo to four centimetres. Pure whitePurer than the snowOn Mount Everest….
What Makes a Writer?
What makes a writer? There are as many answers to that question as there are people who call themselves “writers.” What makes me a writer? Confidence in my own work and a feeling that I can trust my own voice to speak up with. The truth is that I started calling myself a writer at…
Unintended Consequences (Caturday Questions)
What happens when you do something that turns out to have unintended consequences? Middle Cat loves his Human-Mom. He goes out to the choicest nests and picks the nicest gifts for her and leaves them, pungent and appetizing, at the foot of her bed. But does she appreciate it? No. Quite the opposite. Why does…
Jabin Law: Live from the Living Room
Prologue I introduced Jabin Law, an independent singer/songwriter from here in Hong Kong, in a previous essay, but I think he deserves a full article about him, for I promised him a review (which has not materialised) on his double-album Ahistorical. Perhaps a reflection on a concert I attended instead. Life under the mask mandate…
“Forget it” (An Archaic Concept of Me: Delivery 7)
A Moment of Authory* Self-Reflection Some months back, Iʼm half way through writing the book before I notice almost all of it is internal narrative of the main character. I had been considering going back to edit it towards more external action, and less dominated by early-adult thought-angst of not fitting in. But then I…
Eros Turranos: Grief through Poetry
Have you ever memorized a poem by accident? Happened to me a few years ago. A poem called “Eros Turranos” by the 19th-20th century American poet Edwin A. Robinson. I was going through a very bad breakup about which I don’t want to say more. I could say “out of respect to the parties involved”…