Ghost and Heroine

Weeping Woman on Banyan Tree

come near, come here
i know a place to hide
right after dusk set in
out of the agony

no one sees you coming
come near right by the valley
come here, where i fall and lose my baby
i thought this was a place to hide

no four roofs but it was a shelter
wide leaves embrace every worry
of unwanted joy from incapable juvenile

come near, come here
i know a place to hide
take a vine, bring it home
tie it on your neck

come near, come here
This is our place to hide
forever this is your sanctuary
now you’ll always be with me

River Heroine

That summer when the river swallows the city whole
She rows her boat to the headwater
Stripped down near the lighthouse
Crocodile King would arise

“Come to the light!”
The whirlpool starts drawing her
The lighthouse overcasts unwanted shadow
The city back being a convention

Every summer when the river swallows the city whole
I search light with a compass made of mermaid’s bones
Chanting mantra at the top my lungs trying to get to her

“Here is yours—“

The river finally swallows her as a whole
The city drowns in sorrow
I am the loser that let her go