Painter

I spent the last year on a story,
a prologue of a moment,
when i first met a painter of her own destiny

I’ve never come to know her history,
a series of intrigue and pain,
as she brushed them all in shades of skylight gray

I have little on my palette to paint her,
a memory of crafting her charm,
onto the pages of her reverie

Faith

do what is true with patience
live by an accord to the word
speak fluently in desire
for what may come will be
for what may be will come

Pêuan เพื่อน

this summer has been ours
our paths moves swiftly in fall
as autumn forgotten leaves
lose its will to earth’s gravity
descends from the trees planted in the grounds we walk on

เพื่อนสนิท
pêuan sà-nìt

you climb these trees with me
faithfully
holding me as i cry
the seasons change too quickly
patiently
as storming weather pulls me into the fast winds

เพื่อนตาย
pêuan dtaai

we wait for the rising sun
in still calm wondrous nights
on steps of a buddhist temple
you cradle my dreams
with prayers
for tomorrow’s horizon

ขอบคุณ
khob-kun

Revolutionary

Exuding confidence is revolutionary

In existence are creeds mandated by a system
told through history books
echoed by generations of oppression

Weed the young
Segregate class
Separate race
Divide language
multiply reproduction of elitism

Track minorities
Reduce voice
Erase culture
Dry the tongue of salivating self determination

I will not comply
I will no longer be engulfed by lack of, without, or am not
I will no longer allow myself to crawl in to fetal position

Since birth, I’ve been told what I am not
Till now, I’ve been reminded of what I lack of
In this moment, I am with

confidence.

I will not comply.

Traveler

“I’m dreaming of the next adventure in some other part of the world where cities breathe freedom and romance.”

Sacred Her

I did not fail
I found myself loving her.

Time will pass
The memories with her will be kept sacred within me.

I wish her well.
I wish her love.
I wish her joy.
I wish her my love.

Time will pass
The best of it will be kept sacred within me.

I did not fail
I found myself.

Solidarity

My Muslim sister I see everyday rolls into my peripheral
fully dressed in clean creased pants and cardigans
Covered hair to toe
She wears her hijab in fashion that humbles me time and time again
The simple cotton fabric that draps over head speaks volumes of the Qur’an
she so faithfully lives by
She tells me
it is her choice to wear her religion daily
In her faith,
women make choices to live by God
And Allah reminds her
“beauty is a gift that only deserved ones can uncover”

Men who claim authority over pavement
do not have the privilege to buy a second of her presence
She tells me she protects her skin and shields her body
from gazes,
prejudices,
sexists,
racists,
unlawful expectations,
strangers do not have the privilege
They dare not to understand that as a woman,
She does not have to give away her body because a man wants it
She does not have to bare her breasts on magazines or strip for affection
She does not have to buy over the counter diet pills to have ownership of her body
And she does not have to take off her hijab so someone else feels better about their own power

At 16,
she chose to wear her hijab as an act of faith
At grocery stores,
Eyes that graze sight of her knew that she is a woman of God
And they treated her as one because her resilience commands respect.
But when 9/11 happened,
When twin towers fell
When three thousand Americans lost their lives
When falling gravel shook the foundation of complacency
And when millions tearfully watched on television that freedom does not always mean security
The attacked became the attackers

The Department of Homeland waved flags of nationalism to infringe on civil rights
And extreme U.S. nationalists took God in their hands
and slapped my Muslim sister across the face
Four days after September 11th took place,
a self-proclaimed patriot with the 2nd amendment strapped to his waist
drove by a gas station in Arizona and shot a Sikh man
to death
mistaking him for a Muslim
Hate is a disease that permeates throughout our nervous system
Young Muslim woman
who feared for their safety unraveled their hijabs
in a country where we claim to be the land of the free

I look at my Muslim sister in the eye
in solidarity

Any time someone claims to have power over you
tell them they do not have the right
anytime someone makes you feel like your freedom is not your own
tell the they do not have the right

(still in progress…)