A Family's Table Lamp Poem by Norman Jin Shyr Wang

You were a king of brightness
after a flip of a child's hand.

You haunted every roach
dashed by stream of lightning.

Moths and flies were your guests
tabooed, only peeking at the window fence.

Like a traffic controller
directing the flies of pen and ink,

and a train conductor driving
the train of thought on a given track.

When your eyes closed as you sat
you were a night owl in meditation.

Singing a lullaby with sound of silence
a best nanny to keep a baby accompanied.

You recorded what you heard
when a teenager chatted on iPod

and won't tell a thing
just respect her privacy.

When mom and dad fought
you said their prayer for helps.

A thief came in to steal, for his hush-hush
you offered your body for him to crush.

Lost everything you have
all that for a peace of mind.