spoken word at 31 I want to speak in poetry, where the silence means as much as the sound — where silence is sound. Let this silence be stillness, the listening of this body to the creek passing through worn rocks on a journey downstream.
celebrating the harvest I want to learn to take up space that arises out of confidence and faith in my own song, a space that is expansive and immediate, grounded in the present moment, alive.
daring That moment of clarity - I am not afraid of you You standing towering over me, daring me to be afraid Yes - my legs are shaking, adrenaline is flowing through my body
Stilling the ocean Meeting sorrow and disappointment in the midst of ongoing acts of violence against Asian people, particularly Asian womenI touch into my anguish and fear of inhabiting this Asian body at a time of
Grandpa My grandfather built the San Francisco Library With his bare hands, climbed ladders soaring into the sky To balance on steel beams, hooking and unhooking Metal from machine. He’d climb 40 stories
Nihao A white man sent me an email the other day With the first words, Nihao. What is the first thing you see of me, white man? Is it my Sunflower skin, my black
Sunflowers I recited this poem at Sit Walk Listen's #StopAsianHate event in front of San Francisco's City Hall on March 21. May the six Asian women killed from anti-Asian racism and violence in Atlanta
Bringing my values to the workplace as an Engineering Manager My mission is to build empathy and wellbeing into engineering teams. How can I create the conditions to foster belonging, wonder, integrity, and contribution in the workplace?
The world I'm building One day I want to build a company without borders, one where an Arab and an American and a Chinese can gather in a virtual space and build a better, more peaceful world
old woman on the hill Old woman on the hill Just a five minute drive away now but Continents and conflicts separating our ancestors Pogroms in eastern europe chasing your parents to hollywood Poverty and opportunity calling my
Welcoming this body to 2021 An annual love letter to myselfDear one, It is time to lay your body down to rest. Offer your torso and legs a bed of wildflowers, your head a soft pillow of grasses.
letting go November 28, 2020 Abbas, Thank you for showing up, if only to reflect and say goodbye. And thank you for your honesty and openness this past Tuesday. I have taken the past ten
I come for myself 1- I come for myself, not you My pussy is my own My body is my own How dare you tell me That you were imagining a future for us I saw us
Your camper van house all the things I'll never need to know againYou invited me into your tiny house and taught me its secrets: The water pump needs to be on to flush the toilet One shower
groceries (what you've left behind)Just last week you walked through my door with Arms full of groceries, filled the fridge with my favorite zucchini, Kombucha, leeks, huge portobello mushrooms (which you claimed Are
Crafting a Memory of Wellbeing from the Car Crash I was in the forest with a notebook and pen, listening to a message from the trees. The energy was easeful, spacious, curious. I wrote and listened and breathed in the slightly smoky
The message from the trees Not long after requesting a message from the trees, I slammed into one going 15-20 mph in my car. The tree stood strong. My head slammed into the steering wheel twice, leaving me
Crumbling the Walls of Separation In Israel and Palestine, where I lived from December 2018 - March 2020, there is a vast concrete wall separating Jerusalem from the West Bank. The wall is unsurpassable for many: it is
Red sky Wildfires are raging across California. The sky is burnt red orange grey. Ash has settled on my stationary car, the bare earth, the leafy trees near my window, my moving body. Ash signifying
ease and encouragement I give the ease in my body space to enjoy the bird calls coming from the three pines. A plane hums overhead. Genmaicha in my cup. The air is cool and wet and
Sand I send off my grief like sand spilling through my fingers settling like silt at the bottom of a river salty with tears I'm sorry for not asking more of your suffering for
kickboxing and joy Today a friend and I were both feeling down, so I proposed we do yoga together over Zoom video. Can I be honest with you, Melanie? They said. I don’t want to
Constriction and space (3 ways) 1Constriction is in the furrowing of my brow, visible to only the sharpest observer running in line from my third eye to throat to belly button a sharp arrow on the war path
Goodbye letter Dear John, I do not want to be in this committed relationship anymore, I am sorry. I am dreading having to tell this to you in person and to see that I am
to my hungry ghost Dear hungry ghost deep within my body Welcome to this new day of existence in this 30th year of life Please come, blinking into the sunshine, for this moment, Sit down beside me
