Two States Of Mind Poem by Chen-ou Liu

A Tanka Sequence

walking out
of family court
at high noon
the sound of the wind
is strangely cold

one hundred days
rain or shine
I drive my shadow
around the lake
on a tandem bike

alone
on a snowy night
the heat
of my ex's skin
warms my dream

one year ago today
she demanded a divorce...
many misspellings
slipped my notice
in these old love letters

spring sunset fades
through my attic window …
remembering
the scent
of our lovemaking

the blank page
stares at me all night
bit by bit
I photoshop my ex
off my mind

in dreams
my ex on top of me -
for a whole day
in Palestine
no one gets shot