conspicuous and fluttering flight

things have a way of catching up
and then disappearing all together
it's kind of like watching a really good film
just when you're completely immersed in the characters
and it feels as though it's about halfway through
the credits start to trickle down the screen
and you're left wondering what would have come next
where did all the beautiful cinematography go?
where did all that lovely scenery escape to?
did the heroine kiss me after all?
did i save her in the end?
and suddenly it's drafty and cold
the panic begins to set in and unnerve your soul
suddenly you are caught up in the constant act of unravelling
like a caterpillar's sixteen steps resulting in the fraying
of everything that it casually touches and passes by
inch after painfully slow inch

spin

we put a new spin
on the act on breaking-up
one that i'm especially proud
of having conceived of
we agreed that after all three
beautiful years of you and me
that we owed it to ourselves
not to let our last memory
be such an entirely sad one
so we met again with one rule
that for one night only
there would be no rules
we would embody all that
we had come to love about each other
so that's exactly what we did
we started out with japanese
eating across from each other on my bedspread
something like chopstick foreplay
we devoured courses of each others' eyes
prolonging the inevitable as long as we could
our tongues met for the very first and last time
it was nothing short of chemical magic
i removed your bra to discover vegas nipple tassels
and undressed you like a puzzle of a thousand pieces
i teased your swollen lips
and kissed your jet black fabric
i used scissors to make a precise cut
at the equator of your panties
and exposed your rare delicacy
i breathed your scent and savored it
tracing tiny circles around your rosebud
and feeling for its effect
we united in thunderous rhythms
and loved like only lovers
meant to last
could even attempt
we succumbed to each others' every last desire
and made it last for hours
i can still still taste your honey on my lips

prolonged exposure

the key to being a good lover
is less about having a bag of tricks
up your sleeveless arm
and more about spontaneity
it's miles away from locker room anecdotes
and much closer to the ability to perceive
the subtle signs she will unknowingly reveal
it's about listening and feeling
and sensing and searching
it's about selflessness
and intuitiveness
it's about creativity
and togetherness
a good lover will blow your mind
time and time again
if only you can reach in
and find a way to connect with hers
great lovers don't need instruction
they wear each other in

firehouse 99

i witnessed
my little brother
officially become
a firefighter today
i can't explain
how proud i am of him
words just won't do it justice
the good folks in markham
can sleep a little sounder tonight
thanks to the new kid in firehouse 99
i love you, brother

a southpaw's grammer

my dear friend, michael
keeps me in songs
wraps me in melodies
insulates me in reverb
and always says goodnight
through my headphones

春節

january twenty-third
six o'clock
ante meridiem
i awake
eighteen floors high
a whole year older
none the wiser
and lower than ever
with a kink in my neck
that could rival
that of the
intermediate egret
writhing in pain
i can only laugh
at the irony
on this balcony
i let cold rain
streak down my cheeks
trying to light a cigarette
i discover that
both of my lighters
can't be bothered
it's monday
it's pouring
it's my my thirty-first birthday
writhing in pain
i can only laugh
at the irony
eighteen floors up
and lower than ever before
on the day of the chinese new year

discerning scents

i wish i could have
captured your scent
bottled it
and taken it with me
everywhere that i went