The Sidewalk is My Friend

not the lobby

the dining room 

or even my balcony

overlooking the streets

but the sidewalk 

with its long stretch of concrete 

rows of agapanthus 

thrusting their heads toward the sun

the dappled shades of trees

that house the song sparrows

the occasional passersby 

the sound of traffic 

muffles the crowds

whose voices

have become my own

Losing You

I lose you

like a jacaranda tree shedding 

its purple trumpet flowers

In losing you, I lose myself 

parts of you 

that became parts of me

the laughter 

the gestures

the candlelight in the eyes

I lose you

though I have already lost you

a million times

in small daily fragments 

a memory here 

a photograph there

Soon my heart 

will be bereft of you

like debris 

and leaves

swept away by a breeze 

I lose you

like pieces of a mosaic 

falling one by one

until the last seashell 

hits the floor 

with a final clonk

She Calls Me Norma

This lady I know

thinks my name is Norma

which makes my dad a fan

of Marilyn instead of Jackie

If that were the case 

I would be clad in white

instead of the color the first lady 

wore to her fateful parade 

the ruffles of my skirt flaring 

while I spun around 

in front of an electric fan

If I wore pink

it would be fuchsia 

not pastel

a strapless satin dress

exposing my chest

with matching long gloves

It didn’t matter either way

so I never bothered 

to correct her

MotherMoon

The moon chaperones the night’s dance

of twinkling stars above and below 

Oh, mother goddess!

Whose velvet lapel

shall I rest my palm upon?

What suitor will chase away 

the clouds of wrath 

around your porcelain face?

May the grace of our waltz 

bring a smile

to your lunar highness!

14 Reasons Why

Today I am challenged to write

A poem about my purpose in life

I envision filling the pristine white

With strokes sharp as the marks of a knife

Not a single word tenants the page

The paper stares at me menacingly

At this wooden desk, I’ve come of age

Who wants to know about the plain old me?

As I sit here, pondering my own worth

Unable to notice any progress

I have already contributed to this earth

My struggle is part of the process

Feeling inadequate as a poet

This poem was written before I knew it

Jackie Chou is a writer from Southern California who has two collections of poetry, The Sorceress and Finding My Heart in Love and Loss, published by cyberwit.  Her poem “Formosa” was a finalist in the Stephen A DiBiase Poetry Prize.