Hands that once felt too small to lift burdens

are now clenched into fists

To this day, most of what we actually know about sex is from Netflix shows, or The Notebook.

But if I visit Chinatown and look hard enough, 

I can see the traces of our history left behind.

Why does the sky appear black from the airplane

even though its sweltering noon on the ground?

Discrimination on the basis of class is illegal. Yet it exists and blooms in this environment of hate. 

Jeepney Smoke seeps through the iron rail

to keep him bloodshot. He burrows in the neck

125 miles.

I never imagined they could be so close. 

the first missile tears through the skin;

skinning the embers of a quenched country

There’s a moment in kindergarten when I realize that the other grandparents don’t smile.