Him: She wanted a teddy bear

She wanted a teddy bear. She drove him wild. She was the stripper whom he loved, who didn’t love him back. He recalled a story she told him about a time when she really wished for a new teddy bear, but her single mother couldn’t afford one. Now that he was making money selling sandwiches,

In the heat of Asia

We just wanted to play aroundall day and nightcontent and not seeking anything more Damp nights in Asiajust walking the quiet night streetsowningworld clasped in handscareless, just skidding off fun What every aspiring rock star wanted in late nightsafter the wee hours of an ending partysome things to talk aboutsome pains to sharesome loves to

Can’t stop this fire and a boy who juggled tennis balls

‘Can I trust you with my life? Can I believe that you’ll take every bit of me, exposed to you, and cherish itprotect itlove itwhollywith your life?Can I open myself, and show you all my nooks and crannies?And crevicesand scarsodditiesdiscolorationsinsecuritiessoftnesspurenessclarity?Could you become intoxicated with the scent of me for as long as you can?Could you

Dad’s my hero

Pretty sure genetically, I’m 99% my dad 1% mom When I see an angry young man I see my dad and in that, I see myself

Ageism runs deep

Ageism runs deep. It runs (ran) through my veins bitterly. There I was, twelve years old, just walking around the park barefoot pretending that I was in a Disney cartoon. Running through freshly cut grass (hindsight, not the best thing to do), singing to trees, pretending to be an Olympic ice skater on my roller

Vegetable seller

When I was a kid, I reclined near the balcony door under the sunlight and overheard the veggie seller shout out vegetables he was selling for the day. Such a lively thing it was; the crows were crowing… the birds were chirping, dogs barking, music playing, people talking, cars honking, kids yelling, bells ringing, whistles

Chicken-broth like foreign scent and blinds

The rare subtle scent of something like mild diluted chicken-broth or a faraway whiff of miso soup does this to me. It took me years and years to figure out what this scent really could be, and up to today, I’m ninety-five percent sure that it’s related to meat; and most likely chicken. This rare,

Childhood bright eyes, adventure, and a song about a beast

Mr. Mock

It just came to me out of nowhere, but I think his name was Mr. Mock. He was the gym teacher who made elementary school ten times more fun, especially for extremely playful kids like myself. Why would anyone want to sit around, study, and get lost in messed up thoughts when you could be

Greasy pizza

We were little kids who sat in the school cafeteria during lunchtime. The cafeteria special that day, as it was every other day, was pizza. I used to think that pizza was a big deal, but the school pizza really, really sucked. I had a friend from Botswana next to me and a friend from

‘I want adventure in the great wide somewhere’

Spell

Maybe we’ll always be in this place, where you’ll be the beast and I’ll be… Forever under this spell Standing by the cliff and always wanting more Flying with the dry white dandelions that take me somewhere, higher and higher In a revolving world inside a glass enclosure Where I sleep amid flowers Dreaming as

The smell of anxiousness

Bring back those anxious feelings of my childhood: the distinct smell of dry noodle mixture and seasonings inside the chemical smelling 80’s plastic lunch box. Bring back these feelings of isolation and fear of differences, the fear of rulers and authorities (teachers), and the fear of rules and systems that used to cage me within

Look! It’s America

Dear nightmare friends

Old nightmare friends, only when the rain of salty tears wash my body offshore and subside do you come near. My dear nightmare friends, so long ago of you I feared. Now you’re here, trying to comfort me amid tears. Your memory lifts my spirit, takes me back to childhood long lost. The thought of