Jerry Zhang

I thought that love at first sight
Was shallow

Until I saw you

Encounter
The awkward silence
As I stare
A listless soul
At my reflection in the mirror

A flickering street lamp cast an eerie saffron light onto our breath, in the crisp autumn air.

Love
Was a breathtaking journey
Magical
Mystical
And unreal

A swarm of mosquitoes formed a lick of menacing pewter grey, across a canary yellow horizon. They flew gingerly towards, and almost had the slightest hint of swagger

I stumbled blindly
Along a path laiden with traps
Misled
Misguided,
Yet still stalking proudly
But without direction

Geoffrey stared intensely at a chip of wood that lay on the ground, as he desperately penned the final words of his thesis. He had sat, squirmish and stiff-backed, throughout another unpleasant day.

You can say what you want
Of religion and faith
The contentment it provides
The truth-relief to pray

A father’s unwavering love
Is bestowed upon a son
Too generously
But overseen
Too easily

Let’s go back

To the times when we could frolick
In a field of purple, orange and green

Never can a son appreciate
Everything
That a mother does

I walk alone
Down jagged lanes
Hunting for
A missing face

I’ll meet you by the old black bench
At the park
It’s secluded edge

When you get your chance
Take her hand
Walk her to another land

As I stride across the emerald sea of grass, dancing in the wind, I let the crisp scent of the spring air cleanse me of my winter woes.

Your smile was fresh
Your mind untainted
Blissfully ignorant
Energy
It flowed like a river

If I told you
I didn’t believe
In corruption
That blackens the soul of humanity

The United States

Of foreclosures, of the misery
Of gas prices, of the frustration
Of bullets and armor, of the sorow

If you want to throw pebbles
If you want to throw stones
If you want to throw punches
Go complain on your own

No longer brazen
No longer live
Singing sober tunes
To sober sighs