The pale, the cold, and the moony smile
Which the meteor beam of a starless night
Sheds on a lonely and sea-girt isle,
Ere the dawning of morn's undoubted light,
Is the flame of life so fickle and wan
That flits round our steps till their strength is gone.
O man! hold thee on in courage of soul
Through the stormy shades of thy wordly way,
And the billows of clouds that around thee roll
......
Our sardine fishermen work at night in the dark
of the moon; daylight or moonlight
They could not tell where to spread the net,
unable to see the phosphorescence of the
shoals of fish.
They work northward from Monterey, coasting
Santa Cruz; off New Year's Point or off
Pigeon Point
The look-out man will see some lakes of milk-color
light on the sea's night-purple; he points,
......
Sweetest love, I do not go,
For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show
A fitter love for me;
But since that I
Must die at last, 'tis best
To use myself in jest
Thus by feign'd deaths to die.
Yesternight the sun went hence,
......
Old elm that murmured in our chimney top
The sweetest anthem autumn ever made
And into mellow whispering calms would drop
When showers fell on thy many coloured shade
And when dark tempests mimic thunder made -
While darkness came as it would strangle light
With the black tempest of a winter night
That rocked thee like a cradle in thy root -
How did I love to hear the winds upbraid
Thy strength without - while all within was mute.
......
I am Marilyn Mei Ling Chin
Oh, how I love the resoluteness
of that first person singular
followed by that stalwart indicative
of "be," without the uncertain i-n-g
of "becoming."Of course,
the name had been changed
somewhere between Angel Island and the sea,
when my father the paperson
in the late 1950s
......
Will I get my dream job, car, or home?
Each instance of fate hangs upon whim,
Like that of the bluebirds, born to roam.
Will I get my dream job, car, or home?
Amidst the questing, time's often flown,
For chance dwells in a region, very dim.
Will I get my dream job, car or home?
Each instance of fate hangs upon whim.
Flashback of warm night,
Swirled in me like the silence of sight,
Suitcase of memories, travel after time
Almost left behind like a debris frite
Always you pictured me
Walk far-away too ahead
But I go slow longing for your head
The second hand of destiny unwinds
I feel I lost you
But if you open your eyes
......
shadows approaching
stars are shining, mercy me
sparkling moonlit lake
a mass surrender
as pink lilies bloom lately
and I can see mars
once again I am
falling in love with the night
......
Fearless sailor boy, the wide open seas are calling,
As the whistles of thrushes, when no one is talking.
Royal destiny and daring, has led you here this day,
And deep thirst for adventure, will sweep you away!
Always your heart has known, one day you'd set sail,
Into the golden horizon, where contentment prevails;
But the tears you leave behind, has caused you sighs,
Someday you'll be returning, as true love never dies!
It was just one of those splendid days, which held no excitement;
Moreover it required none, for in its stillness, I was content.
Lying on the forest green grass, luxurious blue skies in my eyes,
Summer winds brought me nature's music, and I needed no surprise.
I found fun shapes in the clouds, and now and then I dozed off,
In a sunny, blooming meadow, watching the birds land and takeoff.
In the middle of the feverish day, just after my picnic lunch,
......