By Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai
2000
plastic angels rise
from a west side lawn – guns pop –
mourn the daily dead –
2001
hands close the circle
we breathe fear as towers fall
paranoia kills
2002
wear my hair in braids
sweat the night away at clubs
come, lean into me —
share our stories now.
we are urgent, relevant —
we need each other.
2003
scars carved on shoulders
protect him through dense jungles
genocide’s ruins
we ignite the light
resurrect hope across seas
unafraid to love
2004
ask the universe
and she will answer you hard
like a hammer swing
ask the universe
and she will answer you soft
like a flower’s mouth
2005
my father’s body
cramped in a hospital bed
healed by the divine
my first bouts with grief —
my mouth clamps shut, yet my pen
finds infinity.
2006
i am ass-backwards
scramble of planes, trains, and cars
my clock ticks awry
2007
the mirror screams back —
that girl wants me dead, the one
who is so unsure.
poetry does save.
its sound and sense cure many,
transforms wounded hearts.
2008
barack obama
even softens the cynics…
for about three months
2009
slip out from girlhood
new clothes await you, woman
take control – your life
slip out from girlhood.
new loves await you – woman.
enjoy your vast worlds.
2010
with the dead buried,
the living continue on
– in me and beyond.