Mother Lotus
Returning to the candlelight-shrouded cushion next to you For the first time in thirteen years Might have been less intimidating Had I not also lost my voice and yours and grandmother’s. This tastes novel, So I push it around with my tongue to get used to the feeling of scripture in my mouth. I’d spent too long reciting self-belittling thoughts like mantras And pouring acid into my mind until honey made dissonant calls. Forgive my rejection Of the food that nourishes me, The spirit that keeps me standing. I could not have found the trust that I now hold in my white-flower compass Without having first been lost, So I do not regret leaving so much as I regret Walking away from you and us. All that time I couldn’t help but admire how your devotion Resonates compassion and embodies the truths. I desperately held onto my clay ego And in turn surrendered my identity, But I’d like to think that I can piece together the ashes of who I am. I come to the humble altar with a different purpose than you, but find the same comfort In the incense that fills the room and our souls. I see why you like it, how grounding it is. I could see myself liking it too. Thank you for taking me back into these empty halls Though I’m no longer who I was And this sanctuary is also new.
The Juvenile Way to Grow Old
The free radical theory of aging States that people grow old because the metabolization of energy Produces unstable byproducts, free radicals, That damages our cells. Youth acts quite similarly In that, through an inevitable series of rather irrational and daft choices, It has caused great problems For our future selves to pick up. Yet, I can’t look back On the horizon of hindsight With all its blinding colors And still-crumbling footpaths And say that I regret Any of it at all. Not your blood-soaked letters That should have never been read, Free Radical, None of it at all.
No experience is far removed from grief or love, and Jasmine’s writing showcases that. She has been writing poetry for six years in addition to painting, collage-making, and creative writing. Jasmine, also known as Nhi, is an undergraduate at University of California, Irvine as a psychological science major. Her art focuses on themes surrounding the beauty of the mundane, passion, resentment, and the disturbing ease of spiraling into obsession. Recently, her work was displayed at the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association’s Rewind, Reverse art gallery in June 2022. More of her art can be found on instagram @/hon.nhii.