This document is a collection of short stories and poems by Iyan Igma titled "Smiling" (笑玲). It contains over 60 pieces focused on happier themes such as love, nature, and spirituality. The stories and poems range from 3 to 10 stanzas and explore topics like chance encounters, appreciation for small moments, and embracing life's beauty. The document also includes author notes, translations, and biographical information about Iyan Igma.

2. 笑玲
Smiling
A Collection of Iyan Igma's
Happier and Sappier Writings.

3. Copyright 2008, 2009 by Iyan Igma
2nd Edition.
ISBN: 1442133694
EAN­13: 9781442133693
Published by Iyan Igma via CreateSpace in Scotts Valley, CA.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution­
Noncommercial­No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view
a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by­nc­nd/3.0/us/
or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San
Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
In a nutshell, you are allowed to make copies and distribute it as long as it
is not altered or done for commercial use, and as long as you give me credit.
Consult the license for further details.
Please Note that this is a work of fiction. Any similarities to actual events
or people is coincidental, unless otherwise noted.
Iyan Igma can be contacted through one of the following ways:
●http://stores.lulu.com/iyanigma
●www.iyanigma.com

4. For Ling, who doesn't like to read my sad,
depressing, satirical, and twisted writings. I've
gleaned these bits just for you. Sorry that it was
the best that I could do. Thank you for taking some
of the pictures for More Heresies, It Probably Won't
Kill You..., and Blather.

5. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Things to Smile and Think About
La Extranjera..........................................................................10
Fresh Obsidian......................................................................................11
The Heart is Clairvoyant......................................................................12
Subtle Missteps.....................................................................................13
Intricate Porcelain................................................................................14
Em Sonhos............................................................................................15
My Favorite Author.............................................................................16
Ostra.....................................................................................................17
Sensual Bites........................................................................................18
On Chopsticks.......................................................................................19
Nothing is so Aesthetic.........................................................................20
With New Luster.................................................................................21
Risonanza.............................................................................................22
Sunset Frames.......................................................................................22
Eliciting Electricity..............................................................................23
Rechristened..........................................................................................24
Fields of Spring....................................................................................25
Obeisance..............................................................................................26
Pela Luna.............................................................................................28
Supernoval Light..................................................................................29
Corozonal Jardin..................................................................................30
False Decency.......................................................................................31
The Winter Beguiled.............................................................................33
Soy Tu Girasol......................................................................................34
Sweet Improbabilities...........................................................................34
Love's Germination...............................................................................35
Perennials.............................................................................................37
Probably Paraphilia..............................................................................38
From Silence and In Between..............................................................39
Further..................................................................................................40
Anjo.......................................................................................................43
5

6. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Living Feicui........................................................................................44
Pièce de Résistance...............................................................................45
Mei Beautiful.......................................................................................46
Learning Endless Wonders..................................................................47
i.............................................................................................................48
The Fireflies..........................................................................................49
Cada Noche...........................................................................................50
Alien to Me...........................................................................................51
Pleasing Cascades.................................................................................52
Movement is Relative...........................................................................53
Femme Fatal Attraction......................................................................54
One Sublime Creation...........................................................................55
The Birthday of an Angel.....................................................................56
Uma Coisa Mais...................................................................................58
Slumbering St. Elmo's Fire...................................................................59
See Your Sunlight Shine.......................................................................60
Crafted Perfectly...................................................................................61
Igneous Love........................................................................................62
Asexual Embrace..................................................................................63
Doce Darme Por Vencido.....................................................................64
Your Kiln..............................................................................................65
V.S.O....................................................................................................66
Faded Epitaphs....................................................................................67
Highest Expression of Love.................................................................68
Jinghism................................................................................................69
Lo Que Sea............................................................................................71
Like Each Day Was a Gift..................................................................72
Lo Haré.................................................................................................73
Sunshine in a Season of Discontent.....................................................74
The Missing Link.................................................................................75
Unconventional, But Not Bizarre.......................................................76
This Way...............................................................................................77
Without a Purpose...............................................................................79
Mais Do Meu Ser.................................................................................80
6

7. 笑玲 (Smiling)
I Beseech Thee.......................................................................................81
No Hope to Shine.................................................................................82
Per Buddhist Maxims...........................................................................83
Tradition's stronger than logic..............................................................84
Ne'er Separated.....................................................................................86
Heart in Return....................................................................................87
The Ambrosia of Blissful Moments......................................................88
Consecrated in Devotion......................................................................90
Like Atlas.............................................................................................91
Through Matted Tresses.......................................................................93
Secretly Awaited...................................................................................94
Visage of Serenity.................................................................................95
Meditation in an Embrace...................................................................96
Ever So Slightly....................................................................................97
Over and Anew.....................................................................................98
Sappiness..................................................................................99
Love.c..................................................................................................100
Muito Obrigado..................................................................................100
By Your Pleasured Smile....................................................................101
Blinks..................................................................................................102
The Lady of Cofitachequi...................................................................103
The Relic of His Love.........................................................................105
The One with Whom I Now Lay.......................................................106
On the Bed Where We Loved............................................................107
Memories of You.................................................................................109
Chiasma...............................................................................................111
Quase Soneto Para a Amorenada.......................................................112
Penelopean..........................................................................................113
Love's Autumnal Dimension..............................................................114
A Stranded Perpetuity........................................................................116
Aversion..............................................................................................117
Blossom of Divinity............................................................................118
Acción de Gracias...............................................................................119
The Bonds That Make Us Free..........................................................120
7

8. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Young Love's Mettle..........................................................................122
Miniocrity...........................................................................................123
Helios..................................................................................................124
Arco Iris..............................................................................................125
Thy Physiognomy................................................................................126
Cazándote...........................................................................................127
Incarnate Loveliness..........................................................................128
Eglantine............................................................................................129
Dizzying My Dreary Brains..............................................................130
& Euphrates.......................................................................................131
Hierodule............................................................................................132
Eye of the Beholder............................................................................133
Elf.......................................................................................................135
Worldly...............................................................................................136
Waylay................................................................................................137
Venice.................................................................................................138
Ashore.................................................................................................139
Golden Tips.........................................................................................140
Tripping Up........................................................................................141
To Differ.............................................................................................142
Olivia..................................................................................................143
Olive....................................................................................................144
Onion..................................................................................................145
Entitlements.......................................................................................146
Fleece..................................................................................................147
Unrestrainéd Passion Prevents Clear Thought..................................148
Addiction on the Mind.......................................................................149
Volve...................................................................................................150
Groggy Mumblings.............................................................................151
1280x1024x32bpp..............................................................................152
Demanotation.....................................................................................153
Curiae..................................................................................................154
Moors..................................................................................................155
Pebbles................................................................................................156
8

9. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Sri Lanka............................................................................................157
love outside the lines...........................................................................158
Tarnished Pendulums.........................................................................159
Been Accustomed................................................................................160
Qi........................................................................................................160
¿Quién podría haberme dicho?............................................................161
Pyrofilia..............................................................................................162
Sangrality...........................................................................................163
More than Waste in Me.....................................................................165
A Prompt For Love............................................................................165
Happiness...............................................................................166
Urea....................................................................................................167
Cold Sins.............................................................................................167
Digestive Processes.............................................................................168
Odd Sensation.....................................................................................169
Vegetable Love...................................................................................169
Metamorphosis...................................................................................170
Slap Yore Mamma Good.....................................................................171
The First Few Months.......................................................................172
Haiku's for No One............................................................................173
Sweetness.................................................................................................173
Silk...........................................................................................................173
Conditioner..............................................................................................173
Pools........................................................................................................173
Lips..........................................................................................................173
A Taste.....................................................................................................174
Tegument.................................................................................................174
Thermal Need...........................................................................................174
Llama.......................................................................................................174
Camel.......................................................................................................174
Indecencies...............................................................................................174
Necking....................................................................................................174
Objectivity...............................................................................................175
Thailand...................................................................................................175
A Doll......................................................................................................175
A Right to Bear.......................................................................................175
9

10. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Obelisks....................................................................................................175
Washington.............................................................................................175
Semi­Very Precious..................................................................................175
Singing How She Does............................................................................176
Licking? Good..........................................................................................176
Placement.................................................................................................176
Jojo...........................................................................................................176
Maybe......................................................................................................176
S. Mooching........................................................................................177
My White Love..................................................................................178
Fief.....................................................................................................179
Deflowering Fields.............................................................................180
Sycamore.............................................................................................181
The Rock of Gibberish Altar...............................................................182
Oh Fudge............................................................................................187
Hippo..................................................................................................188
Swappin' Spit.....................................................................................189
A Teenage Girl in the Garden of Eden...............................................209
Author's Notes.......................................................................220
Translations........................................................................................233
Quase Soneto Para a Amorenada (Quasi­Sonnet for the Bronzed One)..233
Cazándote (Hunting you)........................................................................234
¿Quién podría haberme dicho? (Who could have told me?)....................235
About the Author...............................................................................237
10

11. La Extranjera

12. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Fresh Obsidian
I'd met her earlier this year
When her daughter entered ESOL1.
My how much things change when it's spring,
And some months have passed since the fall!
5 She was a simple2 woman, trim,
With short black hair and golden skin.
Her eyes were fresh obsidian3—
You could still feel the warmth within.
She brought her daughter Ping with her,
10 And from Chinese Ping did translate
Her request to learn more English.
Why is it that I hesitate?
I really do not have the time;
Is it just for a pretty face?
15 By plastic standards4 it's not so,
But I suffer for silk and lace.
When asked before5, I have declined;
Why am I compelled to agree?
When I give my answer, scared eyes
20 Thank me oh so whole­heartedly.
1
ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages, or ELL, a school program to teach foreign
children English.
2
Simple: not in the ugly or dumb sense, but in the sense that she didn't try to put on airs. She
was not proud or showy
3
Obsidian: dark black rock created from lava.
4
Plastic standards: the fallacious standards of beauty that society now uses to make women
think that their anatomy must be enhanced and fake and altered
5
When asked before: to teach private English lessons
12

13. 笑玲 (Smiling)
"The price? Well, we'll see if it works.
If so, then we can talk turkey6."
I can't say, "To hear your soft sighs,
Is more than enough pay for me."
The Heart is Clairvoyant
Mark Twain7 would have a better chance
Of genuine sincerity,
Of speaking without sarcasm,
Of using loving clarity,
5 Of being genteel8, kind, and nice,
Of using words that do not bite,
Than is possible for me to
Fall deeply in love at first sight.
So what has changed the way I am
10 To believe a first sight's love's true?
Simply put, I only needed
One miraculous sight of you.
And though my mind cannot explain
The how and why of my passion,
15 I can't deny the way the heart
Is clairvoyant9 in its fashion.
6
Talk turkey: settle the details of the price
7
Mark Twain: one of my favorite authors, who happened to be fairly bitter, biting, sarcastic, and
satirical. On a good day.
8
Genteel: polite and gentlemanly
9
Clairvoyant: able to see the future and/or receive impressions
13

14. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Subtle Missteps
I'm sure at least five times a day
You're filled with exasperation10
By the wording of what I say,
Since something's lost in translation.
5 I'm sure you regard my replies
With the same curiosity
As I do when I must surmise11
Meaning spite viscosity12.
And still despite the barrier
10 That will fall like the Berlin Wall,
Our friendship's none the wearier,
Finding no toil13 in this at all.
Indeed, it's quite amusing when
Our subtle missteps have sprung traps.
15 We vow it won't happen again,
But our logic tells us, "Perhaps."
It is truly quite endearing,
The patience you must have for me.
Conversely, you are inspiring,
20 How you learn so diligently.
10
Exasperation: frustration
11
Surmise: guess
12
Viscosity: friction; an impasse; a barrier
13
Toil: labor, effort
14

15. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Intricate Porcelain
As flashcards flash before your view,
And my mind flashes sights of you,
Which fill me with felicity14,
I must doubt the validity
5 Of my recent romantic fall;
I fell too quickly, after all.
I'd hate for my soul to be slain
By an intricate porcelain
Doll. Though my love I try to bilk15,
10 How can I not pine for soft silk?
It's not sexual or fleeting,
My desire. You're so intriguing
And thoughtful, playful, pure, and sweet.
I love you more the more we meet.
14
Felicity:]
15
Bilk: stop
15

16. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Em Sonhos
I've never been one to sleep well;
Nightmares and false dreams I'd eschew16.
After all, there were many more
Enjoyable things I could do.
5 But that all changed when I met you;
You taught me to believe in dreams.
For there I find your replica
And all is far too real, it seems.
I can feel your hand within mine,
10 Your warm visage17 pressed to my face,
And I'm filled with euphoria18,
Though it was just a small embrace.
But the night is not long enough,
For what am I supposed to do
15 When I can't talk to you in dreams
Or smell your fruit scented shampoo?
I cling to the night's soft mem'ries,
Think of you, and hum the day through,
Wondering how it can be that I
20 Scarcely know you, yet I miss you?
I wait for your calls and emails,
Decomposing till you compose.
I try to keep replies formal,
But I'm sure my crush on you shows.
16
Eschew: forbid; avoid
17
Visage: countenance; face
18
Euphoria: extraordinarily strong joy
16

17. 笑玲 (Smiling)
My Favorite Author
Don't worry about your grammar,
Your syntax19, or lovely accent.
Your words make me so I stammer,
And it is not by accident.
5 You are my favorite author, Jane,
Spite the elegant ones I love,
Who speak of life and love and pain,
And other things quite unheard of.
But you with your broken English
10 And unconjugated verbs still
Can more completely embellish20
Simplicity to make it real.
Your words have such tender meanings,
Like a child first learning to talk;
15 Yet they send my heart careening21
Like the child first learning to walk.
I've never heard such poetry
As what you read and say to me
So simply and so elegantly,
20 Without e'er meaning it to be.
When did you write me poetry?
With each syllable you uttered,
Which have made China dear to me.
You know not how my heart's fluttered!
19
Syntax: the arrangement of words (more or less.)
20
Embellish: make ornate; decorate
21
Careening: traveling madly and out of control
17

18. 笑玲 (Smiling)
25 You fill with emotion and might
More than poets dead long before.
I feel like I live when you write,
And that is what reading is for.
Ostra
"What have I been working on now?
A simple, poetic story.
About what? By all means read it.
Learn of an oyster in the sea.
5 He had a precious pearl to give
That he'd been growing many years.
It was pretty and valuable,
But his uncertainty and fears
Kept him from giving it away,
10 Although he'd met the perfect one.
Patiently he got to know her,
And soon enough his heart was won.
Despite his love, he still had fear
Of giving her the pearl too soon,
15 Since of her love he did not know,
And she might think him a buffoon.
Yes, it stops there. How should it end?
Should he continue to grow it?
Do you think she wants his pearl?" 'In
20 The poem you find the poet.'
18

19. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Sensual Bites
I never knew how sensual22
Teaching you simple verbs like "eat"
Could be, but something physical
Happened when our hands chanced to meet.
5 Your hand in mine, I then explained
What it meant to "grab" an "apple."
Touching your hand, my pulse has changed,
And with emotions I grapple23.
I guide the fruit to your soft lips
10 And teach you the simple verb "bite."
I'm quite surprised that nothing24 rips,
Since my heart pounds with awesome might.
I envy25 the apple which knows
How enticing your lips must taste.
15 Why's it I'm the one who swallows?
I long to kiss you now post­haste26.
I see why our first parents27 fell—
You're losing your innocence, too,
Because of the way our hands feel
20 And the way that I look at you.
22
Sensual: very emotionally stimulating, especially in a sexual manner
23
Grapple: wrestle
24
Nothing: nothing in the chest, such as the heart
25
Envy: be jealous of
26
Post­haste: immediately, hurriedly, right now
27
First parents: Adam and Eve, who, as the rumour goes, partook of an apple
19

20. 笑玲 (Smiling)
On Chopsticks
Till the end of eternity
(Or maybe the day right after)
The memory will stay with me
Of your precious, subtle laughter—
5 That is, the way you smiled so coy28
Trying to let me save my face
(Knowing not how great was my joy
At lacking all semblance29 of grace.)
It's graven30 in the book of life,
10 A permanent reminder of
How one used to a fork and a knife
Can't help but want to fall in love
With a woman with chopstick skills
Who likes my inability
15 With them, and delights not in frills31,
But in peaceful felicity32,
Which she has given to my heart
By being a unique wonder
Blessed with a diplomatic art,
20 Charm for skin, and beauty under33.
28
Coy: flirtatious but reserved
29
Semblance: appearance
30
Graven: engraved; carved into
31
Frills: luxuries, needless things
32
Felicity: happiness
33
Beauty under: she's beautiful inside because of her personality, etc.
20

21. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Nothing is so Aesthetic
How difficult 'tis to explain
What we feel in the so­called heart.
Some things you can only express
And feel and understand through art.
5 Therefore I take your hand in mine,
And with slow movements we create
An abstract of how sensual34
This moment is, how intimate.
For now I'm fully behind you,
10 Both of my arms stretching down yours,
My head rests upon your shoulder,
And we both sense the great allure35
Of making an art without paint
An forming an unsculpted bliss,
15 For nothing is so aesthetic36
As a vibrant, passionate kiss.
Images painted the wildest
Colours, too surreal37 to be true
Begin symbolize what my mind and
20 Heart paint when I think about you.
34
Sensual: physically appealing and stimulating
35
Allure: sense of enticement; temptation
36
Aesthetic: appealing to our sense of beauty
37
Surreal: fanciful; too wild to be true
21

22. 笑玲 (Smiling)
With New Luster
It was just an innocent dance
In the park—part of the lesson.
Plenty of space kept us apart,
And I vowed it wouldn't lessen.
5 How was I supposed to have known
We'd have such strong polarity38?
I tingled when your hands touched mine.
Love gives off electricity.
I'm sure we danced, but can't recall39
10 Anything more than your face.
Your eyes took on a new luster;
You shone like stars from outer space.
You smiled as I had never seen,
And a mutual bond was forged.
15 I never wanted to let go,
Having let my heart be engorged40.
38
Polarity: magnetism, attraction
39
Recall: remember
40
Engorged: made large
22

23. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Risonanza
Like so many other lessons
We learned by doing and living.
How does a man tell a beauty
She's all he e'er thinks about? Sing.
5 The only times I feel alive
Are when you are nearby me, Jing.
The song conveys that I love you,
Differently than how you love Ping.
Love, you strike a resonant chord
10 With me in this world used to C,
And though we may seem flat or sharp
To some, we are in harmony.
Sunset Frames
The wind is gliding through your hair,
While the water sneaks by beneath.
The way the sunset frames your head
Gives you quite an angelic wreath.
5 The sheet's41 held taut by knotted ropes;
There's also a knot in my throat.
Charon42, do you now ferry me
To paradise on your sailboat?
Skipper, come and take my heart's helm;
10 I'll trust in your piloting skills.
41
Sheet: sail
42
Charon: the one who ferried to souls of the dead across the river Styx into Hades
23

24. 笑玲 (Smiling)
I pray the scuttlebutt's43 not known
That your figurehead gives me chills.
Eliciting Electricity
Fresh mint from the garden you grow
Gives your breath desirous savour,
As my tongue your full lips follows,
Enjoying their honey flavour.
5 A million stimuli react,
Numbing the brain with soft passion.
Its fantasies have become fact;
Longing hearts have satisfaction.
Sensations one can only feel
10 Elicit44 electricity.
My knees are weak, and my head reels,
But I've never been so happy.
Our lips part with a gentle pull,
And neither wants this kiss to end.
15 My neck is bent and my arms full,
And we kiss again and again.
43
Scuttlebutt: rumour
44
Elicit: create or cause
24

25. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Rechristened
The mountain water's cool, and we
Stick our toes in repeatedly,
Paralyzed by our fears of cold
And the pain felt previously.
5 It's like the love we now foster,
Though we know it's pleasant and warm
And would love to jump in straightway,
We're afraid of failing and harm.
Perhaps you'd see my weaknesses;
10 I'm not golden as I glistened,
But I can overcome foibles45
Should your love make me rechristened46.
The water and love lap over
The rocks' rough edges down below
15 But if you would just give them time
They'll make them smooth as a plateau.
Don't fret47, for even should I find
Impossible imperfections
In you, they can't dull your luster
20 Or vaporize my affection.
Why is love so complicated,
Though it's initially simple?
Can we keep simple love alive
Like faith's maintained in a temple,
45
Foibles: weaknesses
46
Rechristen: give me spiritual rebirth and a new name
47
Fret: worry
25

26. 笑玲 (Smiling)
25 And be happy as young lovers
Unexposed to the world always?
Won't they make some preservative
So that you can remain this way?
But I know that it's for the best
30 To be cold in this mountain spring;
For we'll appreciate warmth more,
And to each other we shall cling.
Fields of Spring
Ping is running through fields of spring
Which visit mountain meadows last48.
No birds can match how my heart sings
To have you to myself at last.
5 Daffodils and such wildflowers
Surround our picnic location.
I could spend endless blithe49 hours
With you in this pure elation50.
We've had so much to learn about
10 While hiking these rolling mountains,
Seeing burbling brooks full of trout,
Playing in cascades and fountains.
But I've learned more than anything
That, though hearts are a fist in size,
15 Love immeas'rable takes dwelling
48
Visits. . . last: in high mountain meadows spring may come in July or August, judging by
when everything blossoms and flourishes
49
Blithe: happy
50
Elation: state of happiness or euphoria
26

27. 笑玲 (Smiling)
In mine and serves to tantalize51.
Obeisance
I hear the crickets calling
“Come a little closer near,”
For they long to see your beauty,
Since the mere glimpse of you here
5 Has caused them to be awestruck52,
And they can no more than sing
A serenade53 to the goddess
Who's paralyzed their legs and wings.
The sun laments the curtain
10 And the crook pulling it offstage54
Home to the weary mistress
Who's bored him for an age,
Since he spied you down below
And you make his performance shine.
15 He is hoping to impress you,
But he knows that you are mine.
The stars are winking at you now,
And you make the moon to glow.
His prana55 and light kiss you
51
Tantalize:
52
Awestruck: overcome with awe and emotion; completely amazed
53
Serenade: a soft song
54
Crook. . . offstage: when certain acts have been on stage too long in old cartoons, someone
would take a shepherds crook and literally pull them offstage.
55
Prana: life force or energy
27

28. 笑玲 (Smiling)
20 With the cool touch of photon snow56.
The trees are swaying on their knees,
Trying hard not to faint.
The wind is singing, "Ave!"57 to you,
For you are True Love's Patron Saint.
25 The owl stutters to know your name;
He inquires58 it, "Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo?"
The bats are flying blindly
Having caught a brilliant glimpse of you.
Moss is drooling despite itself.
30 Rabbits are sitting tranquilly,59
Wishing that clover looked so good
And tasted so scrumptiously.
Deer give you obeisance,60
And flying birds call salutes.
35 Vines proffer their untamed berries,
And laden trees offer you their fruits,
While I offer you my love
Beyond what words can say,
Promising to spoil you ever,
40 To worship and cherish you each day.
And like the flora and fauna61
56
Photon snow: light waves differ in energy due to photons, which might be oversimplified as
the matter which makes up light. Moonlight is usually pale like snow.
57
Ave!: Latin term of praise
58
Inquires: asks
59
Tranquilly: peacefully
60
Obeisance: loyalty, obedience
61
Flora and fauna: plants and animals
28

29. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Enchanted and subdued by you,
I relish62 your every moment
And long to walk the whole night through.
45 For your soft hand rests within mine,
And your aura63 guides my feet along.
I never knew divinity
Was also produced in Hong Kong.
Pela Luna
We lie upon a moonlit quilt
With the ruse64 of studying stars
And the spatial wonders God built.
We are far from the noise of cars.
5 The night is cool enough for you
To have an excuse to be near,
Which sharpens every sombre65 hue
And makes each light ten times as clear.
The stars wink at me knowing well
10 That love's a secret in my chest.
I smile at them, but cannot tell
You. Soft66, now you peacefully rest.
Your visage67 framed with sparkly dew
62
Relish: cherish
63
Aura: the spiritual light a person gives off
64
Ruse: disguise, excuse
65
Sombre: blue, sad, dark
66
Soft: quiet (an interjection)
67
Visage: face
29

30. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Has a halo68 that dims the moon's.
15 I whisper softly, "I love you."
Nature plays my heart's favorite tunes.
How I wish to spend every night
With you, if only to admire
The dulcet69 I long to hold tight.
20 Having you near's my one desire.
Supernoval Light
Were my love a constellation,
'Twould seem as if 'twere day tonight,
For the stars would fill the whole sky
With endless supernoval light.
5 'Twould not be as hard to discern70
As the love I keep hidden here
'Neath the ribs and flesh that now live
Because you're so perfect and near.
The stars twinkle in amazement,
10 Unable to believe their eyes
At the beauty of you and love
That they witness from lonely skies.
I would never learn the star's names,
Since my eyes would be fixed below,
15 Admiring the gentle aura
Of your spirit's angelic glow.
68
Halo: a crown of light surrounding a person's head
69
Dulcet: sweet [woman]
70
Discern: distinguish
30

31. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Mesmerized71 to see your visage72
That always inspires me and fills
Me with a transcendental love
20 Like the dew which from heav'n distills73.
Corozonal Jardin
She grows a garden in my heart
With tender care and devotion,
And nothing that she grows is tart74;
It flourishes just like Goshen75.
5 Preservatives and chemicals
Find no employ; her thumb is green.
Eagerly, rare and beautiful
Plants flourish, which few eyes have seen.
She cultivates per ancient art;
10 The fruit varies by the season.
Being clean and pure from the start,
The savour's sweet. She's the reason.
Her words and sighs are like the breeze,
And she is sunshine incarnate76.
15 They genuflect77 upon their knees
71
Mesmerized: hypnotized, put into a trance
72
Visage: face
73
Distills:
74
Tart: bitter
75
Goshen: a fertile area near the Nile where the Jewish slaves lived in Egypt, which was not
affected by the plagues of Egypt
76
Incarnate: in the flesh
77
Genuflect: bow down in a kneeling position to show respect to a sovereign
31

32. 笑玲 (Smiling)
And offer her a coronet.78
Ah, yes, indeed, she rules them well,
And they blossom only for her.
It's a shame these flow'rs cannot tell
20 Her how she fills them with wonder.
But, methinks, she already knows,
Since she can perceive their beauty.
For her alone each blossom grows,
A weak mirror of what's pretty.
False Decency
How difficult 'tis to express
The primal79 language of the heart—
Not because we could only guess
At how those words would even start.
5 I know how deeply I love you,
And I would tell you, but I fear
That would be the worst thing to do,
When your friendship to me's so dear.
They say that the most intimate
10 And successful mates were best friends,
Long before they did gravitate80
To soul kisses and holding hands.
But no matter how auspicious81
For love being best friends might seem,
78
Coronet: crown
79
Primal: beastly, base
80
Gravitate: move toward
81
Auspicious: favorable, fortunate
32

33. 笑玲 (Smiling)
15 Losing you would be pernicious82.
So, to enjoy our friendship's dream,
The clear, emotional rapport83,
Such tender sensuality,
I fear to ask that we were more,
20 Mindful of the propriety84.
It is not fit that such as we
Should fall in love, for age and race
Demand we mind false decency,
Lest we incur a great disgrace.
25 But if love is as old as time
And our spirits never begin,
Propriety's a bigger crime,
Since denying our love's a sin.
82
Pernicious: awful, horrible, tortuous
83
Rapport: relationship, bond
84
Propriety: society's blind and imposed rules on what seems right and wrong
33

34. 笑玲 (Smiling)
The Winter Beguiled
April days after it storms
When the air is fresh and cool,
With vapors rushing to heav'n
So that more storms they can fuel,
5 These days so calm and pleasant
Where the heat won't scorch mankind,
And the temp'rature's just right
To love with the heart and mind,
When the Summer's kept at bay
10 And Spring has Winter beguiled85,
When the Self trapped in the flesh
Longs to live and love quite wild,
And cells bask to be alive,
Giving passion to what's real
15 And faith to dreams realize
Is how you make me feel.
85
Spring. . . beguiled: the Spring has tricked Winter and its coldness to go somewhere else for a
change
34

35. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Soy Tu Girasol
I follow your arc through the sky
So that I can bask in your rays
Offering you yellow petals
That possess slim chance to amaze
5 Someone as radiant as you are
Who has set my gray world ablaze,
Causing me to grow upright, and
Be unable to break my gaze
From you, for it's to Solaris86
10 That every sunflower gives praise.
Sweet Improbabilities
I can't quite explain to my mind
(That's more logical than my heart)
The strangest feelings that I find
When we're together or apart.
5 Why on earth does my soul whisper
Such sweet improbabilities,
Making you ruby or jasper,
Urging me to idolatries87?
Such words as surge up in my breast
10 Make me blush when in your presence.
I try to ignore their behest88,
But they beat to a sweet cadence89.
86
Solaris: the sun
87
Urging me to idolatries: making me want to worship you
88
Behest: plea, petition, suggestion,
89
Cadence: rhythm
35

36. 笑玲 (Smiling)
They entice, though I can't explain
Why my surprised heart feels it best
15 To want to say such things to Jane.
"Mei Jing, come rest cuddled to my chest.
Let me explain life's mysteries,
Even the Shakespeare you hated.
We'll learn passionate histories,
20 And thus our hearts will be sated—
Even should you not understand—
Because we would be together."
Then, you would take me by the hand,
And we'd study love forever.
Love's Germination
Love is an endangered species
Of a flowering orchard tree,
Whose fine pollen's carried by breeze,
Fertilizing haphazardly90.
5 What a delicate seed is born
From which the tow'ring tree can grow—
And should it take a tiny dorm,
It's still love, and hasn't changed, though
We would scarcely believe it so!
10 In shallow earth it germinates91,
And the roots start stretching below.
Toward the sun it gravitates,
90
Haphazardly: without care, here or there
91
Germinates: sprouts
36

37. 笑玲 (Smiling)
And a solitary leaf sprouts.
Though tiny, nonetheless it's love,
15 Albeit there are those with doubts,
Since it's not standing high above.
But all their doubts can't change its kind:92—
It's love and can but grow or die.
Somehow these fools delude93 their mind
20 That just the tree will satisfy.
But that tree matures over time
And not instantaneously.
Yet as the tree grows to its prime,
It gladdens those with eyes to see
25 And appreciate its beauty.
These rare souls are often alone
To see it flourish so fully,
Bearing the sweetest fruit e'er known.
And only those that cultivate
30 The wild seedlings they discover
Have a chance to appreciate
Love's flowers and fruits forever.
Though now our love's fledgling and green,
Should I deny that it exists?
35 Watching its growth is quite serene;
On its fruit I'd love to subsist.
92
Kind: species, type
93
Delude: deceive, beguile, lie to
37

38. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Perennials
The winds of life scattered our seeds
And then went on hiatus94,
Leaving us to blossom until
Time's bees could pollinate us.
5 We bloomed each year as best we could
Waiting for the bees to find us,
We were strong, proud perennials95,
As each winter reminds us.
And then the miracle occurred,
10 Which we'd hoped for many years,
We were cross­pollinated,
And I can scarcely hold my tears.
We're typical for our species,
Just ordinary flow'rs,
15 But we've made a hybrid96 beauty
When combined by love's great pow'rs.
94
On hiatus: on vacation
95
Perennials: flowers and plants that return year after year, winter after winter
96
Hybrid: mixed
38

39. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Probably Paraphilia
This must be paraphilia,97
For this strange love I have for you
Causes the queerest98 emotions,
And long hence99 my sane sense withdrew.
5 Society could ne'er accept
A love so complete and devout,
That's unconditional within
And honest and open without,
That puts you above all concerns—
10 And even life itself to me—
Whose only selfish desire's to
See you spoiled in felicity100.
The world can't accept true love,
But why should that matter to me?
15 I don't accept their cold blindness.
You are all that matters to me.
97
Paraphilia: a catchall word used in society to describe any type of love or attraction which is
not socially acceptable, such as true love.
98
Queerest: strangest
99
Hence: go
100
Felicity: happiness
39

40. 笑玲 (Smiling)
From Silence and In Between
There's so much I don't know about,
Though I've learned about all the world.
But part of me just wants to pout
That the mystery's not unfurled101.
5 What's the enigma102 that perturbs103
My mind that has long been prided
In finding out all it disturbs?
It's that, though you have provided
Some little hither thither clues
10 About who you are and your past,
No matter how much I peruse104
Them, I am stuck at an impasse105.
Lo, I know next to nothing of
You. Is that what makes it easy
15 For this conundrum106 I call love
To completely liberate me?
I know so little about you,
And I wonder if that matters?
You're mysterious through and through,
20 Which somehow completely flatters.
Maybe it's because I love to learn,
101
Unfurled: revealed
102
Enigma: mystery
103
Perturbs: bothers
104
Peruse: study
105
Impasse: barrier, obstacle
106
Conundrum: mystery
40

41. 笑玲 (Smiling)
And each day I'd struggle to glean107
The hope and truth for which I yearn108
From your silence and in between.
Further
I'm always amazed with each step
Further109 into the inner realms
Of your undespoiled110 confidence.
The power implied overwhelms,
5 For when has a man ever been
Permitted to make it thus far?
More have found the rainbow's end
Or soared through space to touch a star.
What is it about me that makes
10 You not hesitate to reveal
The myst'ries shrouded in your past
And naked sentiments111 you feel?
By this I know that you love me;
Otherwise you'd not let me go
15 Traipsing112 through your sacred gardens
And see your stars from down below.
With each step into your labyrinth,
I see wonders painted and etched
107
Glean: to pick up the fragments left from the harvest
108
Yearn: desire
109
Further: more; additional
110
Undespoiled: virgin; unexplored
111
Sentiments: feelings
112
Traipsing: walking
41

42. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Into the walls you lead me through.
20 I am led on by the love you fetched,
Which guides me closer to the end
Of this your darkling113 confusion
To where I can finally see
The real you and not illusions
25 Crafted through emotion's prisms
And holographs that you project
Wishing that others would believe,
Although they lack warmth and depth.
And each time I wax114 frustrated
30 And have my doubts about the prize,
Wond'ring why I've undertaken
To unravel your knit disguise—
Puzzling out the unfath'mable115—
A secret door emerges from
35 The walls of illusions, and my
Perspective changes and succumbs 116
To intrigue and hope for how deep
Must be the tenderness you hide
Behind these endless shifting walls,
40 The gargoyles and façades117 of pride,
And tangled mess of corridors
113
Darkling: mysterious
114
Wax: grow; become
115
Unfath'mable: the unknowable; impossible to understand
116
Succumbs: gives in
117
Façade: an empty or fake front or image
42

43. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Replete118 with snares to trap my feet.
Your love's challenge spurs me on a
Quest we both wish me to complete.
45 What prize awaits me at the end
Is worth more now than at the start,
For the process endears119 you to
Me, just as I shall win your heart.
Had I found you at the onset
50 I would have never been prepared
To cherish you, not knowing why,
And to love me you'd still be scared.
118
Replete: full of
119
Endears: causes love for
43

44. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Anjo
I joke too much, I know 'tis true,
But I can't make my feelings known,
For they would only frighten you,
Should my love's tenderness be shown.
5 And so I joke to mask my soul's
Veneration120 of perfection,
But sometimes I dig my own holes,
Since you destroy concentration.
Your voice is the most beautiful
10 Concerto my ears have e'er heard.
Your countenance121 makes my breast full;
You rapture122 me without a word.
And so fighting all your powers
And the love that keeps bubbling through,
15 Oft' I trample your soul's flowers,
Which is a grievous thing to do.
Indignantly123 you ask of me,
"What kind of person I look like?"
But how can I not speak frankly,
20 Since you turn me into a tyke?
The next time you ask, it might prove
To be the occasion I fall
And tell you, "The angel I love,
120
Veneration: respect, adoration
121
Countenance: appearance, face
122
Rapture: to be caught up in joy
123
Indignantly:
44

45. 笑玲 (Smiling)
The most mature beauty of all,
25 The wondrous woman I adore,
The enchantress who clouds my mind,
The love I'll cherish ever more,
The greatest treasure I could find,
The sweetest being alive,
30 The source of happiness in life,
The strength that makes me onwards strive,
The woman I want for a wife."
Living Feicui
I see why it's called fine China;
Delicate, beautiful, priceless
Are words which can't pay the homage124
Due to you, my Sino125 princess.
5 You're the finest import I've seen
Come from China, and just like silk
You're soft and have a soothing sheen,
But you're far sweeter than rice milk126.
I wonder what the tariff is
10 For a jewel intricately made
For me. You are living Feicui127;
Your voice is the tinkling of Jade.
124
Homage: reverence; deference
125
Sino: Chinese
126
Rice milk: personally, rice milk is far sweeter than soy milk
127
Feicui: 翡翠 (imperial green jade)
45

46. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Pièce de Résistance
Could I but trap the expression
You now give me and I to you,
If passion'd not talk secession128
But remain e'er constant and true,
5 Could your eyes still glow with the fire
Of love that shames the sun's fusion,129
If the essence of my desire
Showed not as shades of confusion,
If your sheer grace and elegance
10 And the tenderness locked inside
Could be a painted extravagance
On canvas, plaster, or animal hide,
Then such would be a masterpiece
I'd be content to keep in my
15 Own museum worth more than all these
Trinkets130 in the Louvre131 and Versailles132.
Those works and sculptures are empty,
Since they lack the grandeur of life.
You can't be saved artistic'ly;
20 You could be revered133 as my wife.
128
Secession: rebellion, separation
129
Fusion: the process by which the sun makes 2 atoms combine to form a larger atom (Hydrogen
to Helium.) In the process light and heat are given off.
130
Trinkets: useless bits and pieces of whatnot.
131
Louvre: a world­renowned art museum in Paris
132
Versailles: the estate where King Louis XIV built a palace; there are many sculptures in the
garden
133
Revered: honored, respected, loved
46

47. 笑玲 (Smiling)
I'd need not art or imprints then,
For sentiment paints on our soul.
Throughout the thick and thin,
You'd be a masterpiece I'd extol134.
Mei Beautiful
What's this? It's just something that
I scribbled out before you came.
I was thinking about you,
Rather, which was your preferred name135.
5 May you see it? Well, I guess so,
Although I'd really rather not.
It's not just because it's English,
But for fear of hearing your thought.
Yes, Jane, I'll hand it to you now,
10 You know that I cannot resist
Even your smallest suggestion;
You rule me with a tender fist.
I see that136 raised your brow a bit,
Is there something you need explained?
15 Of course, I'll read it out to you.
Please, excuse me if I look pained.
“Mei137 Jing or my Beautiful Jane,
Taken together, yin and yang.
Right now, which of them is your name?
134
Extol: praise
135
Which. . . name: many from Asia use an American name, in addition to their birth name
136
That: the reading of his poem
137
Mei: beautiful (Mandarin)
47

48. 笑玲 (Smiling)
20 Do you love with your heart or brain?”
Yes, I know, I am no poet,
But I love verse almost as much
As I love...you came to be taught;
I should really be doing such.
Learning Endless Wonders
Calculus at seventeen
Was the greatest awe yet seen,
Forgetting the years of math I'd learned
That a new system might be discerned.138
5 But what is that compared to you,
Since love has made its first debut,
Making me forget loneliness—
Years of romantic emptiness?
I'm learning how to live alive,
10 Since you make love and joy thrive.
You're the greatest of mysteries—
Each piques139 my curiosity—
A compound of intricacies
Mixed with idiosyncrasies.140
15 Knowledge is my passion, it's true.
I'd love to spend my lifetime through
Learning endless wonders of you,
138
Discerned: learned
139
Piques: arouses interest in
140
Idiosyncrasies: the peculiar habits a person has that helps make them unique
48

49. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Love, and five millennia141, too.
i
I double checked the formulas
And balanced all the equations
Thinking that I would be prepared
For all of life's situations.
5 I could factor142 and simplify,
Use matrices, logarithms,
Graphs, and plots, find derivatives,
Spout postulates, and prove theorems.
But algebra and calculus
10 Ne'er prepared me for the wonder
That's just as irrational as
An imaginary number.
It's incredible you love me,
And I'm sure my math must be wrong.
15 Surely, I have confused a sign143.
It's not for division I long.
I only want to add to you
The exponential love I feel;
Don't divide my soul, take it all,
20 And I'll be whole, integral, real.
141
Five millennia: the amount of time that the Chinese culture has been extant.
142
Factor: a mathematical undertaking where you isolate the common factors; it's similar to
dividing, in a sense. For example 4x + 4 would be factored as 4(x+1).
143
Confused a sign: the most common reason for a problem to be worked out wrong, besides
ignorance.
49

50. 笑玲 (Smiling)
The Fireflies
The fireflies that we caught tonight,
Laughing, stalking flashes through trees
When their coy144 light burned bright in flight
After being a darkling145 tease,
5 Called out to us, and in their way
Are symbols of our newfound love.
There was nothing they needed say;
Just being themselves was enough.
They're caught and placed within a jar
10 And will die save we set them free.
The world's a lesser place by far
When deprived of their wild beauty.
They give off light to guide themselves,
Denying the night's cruel sovereignty146,
15 And are as magical as elves,
Though they're not imaginary.
Love has captured both you and I,
And save we're free, love must perish.
Love's freedom is captivity,
20 Though it may seem strange and garish147.
When we express ourselves freely
Being knit together in love,
Then we can shine far more brightly
144
Coy: flirtatious, leading
145
Darkling: mysterious
146
Sovereignty: rule
147
Garish: unpleasant to look upon, clashing
50

51. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Than fireflies have ever dreamed of.
25 When we are bound and united;
We've been freed from life's lonely jar.
If in love's joy you've delighted,
Oh, shine and show me where you are!
Cada Noche
Each night I doze off with my phone
In hand, wishing I weren't alone
And hoping that you'd call once more,
Though we've talked for hours before.
5 It doesn't matter what you say,
That is, I'm in love with the way.
I share bedtime stories with you
So that you'll sleep the whole night through.
As you rest, I confess my love,
10 Which one day to you I will prove.
But I must hang up while you rest,
Wishing that you were at my breast,
And what is man that has a heart?
We're so close and so far apart!
51

52. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Alien to Me
You didn't come from outer space,
And your skin's copper, not green;
You may have abducted my heart,
But not with a flying machine.
5 You stare at me with diff'rent eyes
Than anyone's had for me.
You've made me lose track of the time
And have erased more than mem'ry,
For fears are gone and self­esteem's
10 Buoyed148 'sif you're Archimedes149.
There's cosmic light within your soul—
Your eyes outshine the Pleiades150.
The kinds of tests performed on me
Only probe my integrity.
15 You're foreign, but you're also love,
That's why you're alien151 to me.
148
Buoyed: held­up, supported, floated
149
Archimedes: the Greek scientist who discovered buoyancy in his bathtub and subsequently
ran naked shouting “Eureka!”
150
Pleiades: a constellation known as the seven sisters.
151
Alien: foreign or unfamiliar
52

53. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Pleasing Cascades
Who knows what the future will hold?
I'm just glad that we have right now.
For this is when, so I've been told,
We decide what Fate will allow.
5 You don't know how big a blessing
Your friendship has become to me,
And I'm enjoying everything,
For once, haply, whole­heartedly.
You make my smile burst forth like dawn,
10 My eyes to twinkle with laughter.
I've never had such serene fun,
I'll want nothing different after.
That is to say that I'll enjoy
The power in me invested
15 By love, which makes me an alloy152,
Stronger than anything tested.
So, I'll live with vigor and vim153,
And enjoy the tune Fate will sing.
In Joy's pleasing cascade154 I'll swim,
20 And all because of my sweet Jing.
152
Alloy: a combination of metals that is often stronger than its individual components.
153
Vigor and vim: energy and enthusiasm, gusto
154
Cascade: waterfall
53

54. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Movement is Relative
You see that sloth155 there in the tree
Behind the bars where he sits
Scarcely moving, and slowly then,
Like a furry statue with wits156?
5 I feel as I have been a sloth
Slowly moving closer to you,
With ev'ry meticulous157 step
I have tried to cross through life's zoo,
At times thinking I'd never reach
10 Your side, so that we could then live.
At times it seems that I've stood still,
But then movement is relative158.
When I've stood still, you've closed the gap,
And we have crossed a vast distance;
15 By traveling e'er so slowly
We've overcome all resistance.
The time it took me to find you,
And all the hardships that I've seen
Make me treasure you all the more
20 And prepared me for love serene.
155
Sloth: a south American primate that might move 3 inches in a day.
156
Wits: intelligence
157
Meticulous: careful, cautious
158
Movement is relative: we move in relation to objects. Even when sitting still we're moving
since the earth is spinning and revolving and so is the Milky Way which is hurtling through
space.
54

55. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Femme Fatal Attraction
Every detail about the way
I feel for you defies ration159
And logic, and somehow each day
It intensifies my passion.
5 I love you, yet it makes no sense—
Much to love's own satisfaction.
I knew not just a few weeks hence
Of your femme fatal160 attraction.
But were love not irrational161,
10 It would be taken for granted—
The understood becomes banal162;
Love's ne'er been bland or unwanted.
So you see I'm crazy for you,
Spite my loyalty to reason.
15 There's nothing else that I can do,
Unless I should commit treason
And deny what I know within.
How can I, when I look at you
And feel your voice caress my skin
20 And dream of you the whole night through?
159
Ration: logic, sense
160
Femme fatal: a beautiful woman
161
Irrational: nonsensical, lot logical
162
Banal: commonplace, ordinary, hackneyed, trite, bland
55

56. 笑玲 (Smiling)
One Sublime Creation
How many years have passed away
Since my emotions have been tamed—
Almost in a mesmerized163 way?
So many that I am ashamed.
5 But now I have such self­control
That earthquakes couldn't disturb me.
My body submits to my soul;
My strength comes from being happy.
How I love the stability
10 That comes from being able to
Focus the soul's ability
And longing to have love on you.
For when my mind I dedicate
In the purest adulation164,
15 My heart can never deviate165
From this one sublime166 creation.
163
Mesmerized: hypnotized or tranced
164
Adulation: praise; worship
165
Deviate: stray away from
166
Sublime: heavenly
56

57. 笑玲 (Smiling)
The Birthday of an Angel
Sweet tunes do they play in heaven,
But hark, each note becomes a jewel,
And praise is showered out today
On the birthday of an angel.
5 Yet here I sing a sweeter song
And revel167 in exuberant168 mirth169
That I could share with an angel
The sacred day of her birth.
Let your halo170 hang askew,
10 And you'll still be perfect to me.
And every message that you bring
Is "love still reigns triumphantly."
Wonders are many in this world,
But none crafted as elegantly
15 As the one who makes my spirits soar,
A being of divinity.
A yesterday you came to earth,
And a tomorrow you'll ascend.
Let me pass each day with you till then;
20 'Tis the only way my days I'd spend.
Would you bid me not to adore171,
167
Revel: make myself merry
168
Exuberant: abundant
169
Mirth: happiness; joy
170
Halo an angel's diadem of glory; not to be confused with a violent video game
171
Adore: worship; love
57

58. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Forbidding my heart's idolatry172?
When you are greater than I am,
Is it truly a heresy173?
25 I celebrate not just a day
But the hope that many years more
Will find my darling angel here
So that heaven I can explore.
Upon your wings you've lifted me up,
30 Teaching my spirit how to fly.
Have a happy birthday, Angel,
May you be prosperous and spry174.
May all your wishes come to be,
Since you have fulfilled all of mine.
35 May a mortal's small gift of love
Be worthy of one so divine.
172
Idolatry: worshipping someone or something other than God
173
Heresy: a belief or practice that goes against the grain of common belief. In this case,
worshipping an angel.
174
Spry: active; lively; full of energy
58

59. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Uma Coisa Mais
You've given my life a purpose
When it drifted on aimlessly.
You've painted my life beauteous;
You give so much and selflessly.
5 You've given me more faith and hope
Than I could ever comprehend;
I fell, but you're my saving rope—
Can't you see that you're my godsend?
I've received wisdom and scoldings
10 When I needed to be chastized175.
You gave my heart precious holdings,
In your spirit I've been baptized176.
I'm filled with wondrous amazement
For the time you've spent with me;
15 You've taken me from life's basement
To where the air is pure and free.
My soul sings like a sacred choir
Since you've given it reason to.
There's but one thing more I desire—
20 To awake each morn next to you.
175
Chastized: reprimanded, punished, corrected
176
Baptized: submerged and given a new life
59

60. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Slumbering St. Elmo's Fire
What do I see when my eyes close
And my spirit drifts calm and free
Like a herd of bucks, fawns, and does177
That never knew anxiety
5 Off to the realms that the wise seek—
The very portals178 of the soul—
To learn the spirit's ancient Greek
And thus gain complete self­control?
I see works Michaelangelo179
10 Would have killed himself to create—
Glory no sculpture or fresco180
Could e'er possibly duplicate.
For how can you trap what resides
Like slumbering St. Elmo's fire
15 In cold marble or plaster hides181
And not wind up looking a liar?
How can you capture a pure soul
When the world sees shallow beauty
And not the Utopic182 atoll183
20 That's sheltered from the raging sea?
177
Does: female deer
178
Portals: windows
179
Michelangelo: a long dead painted
180
Fresco: plaster­based art
181
Hides: skins
182
Utopic: paradise­like
183
Atoll: collection of islands
60

61. 笑玲 (Smiling)
What is seen when I close my eyes?
The most wondrous flow'r that e'er grew.
It is a beauty in disguise;
Yea, visions of glorious you.
See Your Sunlight Shine
I have lost the reservations184
I once had about loving you.
The doubts, fears, and second guesses
My mind plagued my heart with are through.
5 For you have become part of me,
And are nourishment for my soul;
I cannot think of the future
Without you, for you make me whole.
I live to see your sunlight shine,
10 Your soft tones have me enchanted.
My mind dwells constantly on you!
May I ne'er take you for granted.
184
Reservations: doubts
61

62. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Crafted Perfectly
I don't see you as Chinese
When I look upon your face.
My eyes don't lust emptily on you
Because you're of an exotic race.
5 Instead, my eyes perceive far beyond,
Well beneath your lissome185 skin
And find the raceless beauty
Of a pure heart deep within.
Your tenderness and sincerity
10 Your countenance reflects
Who186 you are, not what187 you are,
Is what my eyes detect.
There are those who only want to know
The touch and texture of Asian skin,
15 But from the first I've been captured
By the glimpse of wonder within.
I must admit that you're different,
And that attracts me,
Because you're the only woman that's
20 Been for me crafted perfectly.
185
Lissome: supple
186
Who: your personality
187
What: your race
62

63. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Igneous Love
I know now how the expression
“Crazy about you” came to be,
For that's how I feel when you're near;
When we're apart, it's agony.
5 I've never been so terrified,
But I've never loved completely.
For once my desires have nothing
To do with sexuality.
Instead, I seek a clear rapport,
10 True love's philosophical dream
Which values the emotional
Sensuality as supreme.
A million wonders I would see,
And all of them are you and me.
15 May we form an igneous love,
Rich, intense, not sedentary.
63

64. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Asexual Embrace
It's possible for me to hold you
Without wanting something more,
Since an embrace is treasure enough,
And our rapport188 it can restore.
5 At times I need your comfort, or
The strength that your faith gives to me.
Hugs convey abiding love through
Colloquy189 so eloquently.
Encircling you, eternity
10 Can rage 'round us like a tempest190.
Grasping you close, ma coeur191, fulfills
The needs of my chest though we're dressed.
188
Rapport: relationship
189
Colloquy: an bright and vivid conversation
190
Tempest: storm
191
Ma coeur: my heart
64

65. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Doce Darme Por Vencido
The sweet surrender to your love
Defies the traditions of men.
The loser normally cedes192 all.
How is it losing I win?
5 I'll vow my fealty193 to your heart;
I would lay my life down for you.
But living is the hardest part
Of proving that pledged love is true194.
Thus, my dear I will live in love
10 With you and not just the notion,
And death will come because I live
Mindful of why you've my devotion.
'Tis not a death of flesh and bone
But childish insecurities.
15 How can losing myself to you
Be the greatest of victories?
I've given up, but no disgrace
Could possibly tarnish195 my name.
We're one now, but our paths could not
20 Ever possibly be the same196.
192
Cedes: gives up, surrenders
193
Fealty: oath of loyalty
194
Living. . . true: it's easy enough to say you love someone and die, moreso than if you have to
live a whole lifetime through with them proving it on a daily basis
195
Tarnish: taint, corrupt, corrode
196
Same: as they were before
65

66. 笑玲 (Smiling)
Your Kiln
Woman, it is as though hands
Have sculpted me for years,
First making clay from my sands
And them making crude smears.
5 Occasionally, there would form
A lump resembling me,
Though it seemed ever the norm
That I'd soon be debris.
Touches rough, delicate prods
10 Never made my heart warm
Such failure told me the odds
Were slim that you'd transform
The clay wherein I'm entombed;
Your kiln197 I knew not of.
15 What strengthens, though I'm consumed?
The wonder of your love.
197
Kiln: oven made specifically to bake pottery
66

67. 笑玲 (Smiling)
V.S.O.
You are not just significant;
You are everything to me.
You're the fount of pure waters
Who has healed my Dead Sea198.
5 Though there's no legal commitment,
I'm obligated by something stronger—
The desire to spoil you thoroughly
And to make our love wax199 stronger.
You're not someone to date a while
10 For boredom or fancy's passing,
But my will and ambition
And a strength that is surpassing,
Who keeps me buoyed and advancing,
Instead of lying pronely200.
15 There is no other to compare with you;
You're my very significant only.
198
Fount. . . Sea: see Ezekiel 47:8
199
Wax: become; grow
200
Pronely: face down
67