Reflections on a Loofah

The magic of reaching
for the sky
is to wrap your pale green arm
around this metal
and here -
a net of soft balance.

You are a climber
have some faith
reach through the empty space.


Photo from a budding loofah garden at the convent.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Die

Image
After her husband was executed, Bùi Thị Xuân and her daughter was sentenced to death by elephant trampling. Both she and her husband were skilled generals, faithful to the Tây Sơn dynasty, and the rebels waited for this moment to exact their revenge. Before the herd of elephants stampeded her only daughter's 16-year-old body, she turned and cried out to her mother. "I cannot help you in this moment. Die worthy of a general's daughter," Bùi Thị Xuân fearlessly counseled her daughter as she watched her daughter die before her eyes. After Bùi Thị Xuân suffered the same death, the soldiers fought among themselves to eat a piece of her liver. They believed she was "gan lì" which meant unwavering intrepidity and eating her liver, or "gan" would make them just as dauntless. Fr. Châu opened his homily for the Mass of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs with this heroine story from our history books. He said anyone can die for a dream, an ideal, a vision. Yet,...
Read more

Life with Ashes

Image
It was time to move. Goodbye to Allen Parkway and hello to Florin Wood. Our family was moving from Houston to Sacramento. This was over 20 years ago and the day comes back with ashes. And a smell. My dad had piled all our old clothes, furniture, and knick knacks into a huge heap in front of our yard. He poured gasoline generously and lighted it with a smile. My mom looked on regretfully. All seven of us kids were delighted with the dancing flames. The neighbors didn't care. We lived in what they called the ghetto part of the world and since we were not shooting at anyone, we were okay. "We're starting a new life," my dad reassured mom as our van entered the highway. "No need to hang on the old stuff." "It was pretty dinky, wasn't it?" my mom replied hesitantly. Our years in Houston were our first years living in the United States, far away from the land of our origin, Vietnam. What dad burnt was the few possessions we accumulated fro...
Read more

Blessing

Image
"Fr. Alex was here today," Sr. Jacinta Ngân said. "Oh?  Is he back from his sabbatical already?" Sr. Terry Thủy asked. "Yes.  He came with gifts, little Jerusalem crosses for each of us," Sr. Jacinta Ngân continued. Last year, Fr. Alex had come to say Mass twice for our convent because the priests nearby at St. Luke's was tied up with First Reconciliation for over 900 kids.  He had wanted to come more often, yet we feared for his safety.  He was over 80 years of age and his home was a good 20 minutes from our convent. "He asked me what was the name of the sister that worked at the hospital, the one he worked with," Sr. Jacinta Ngân elaborated with a twinkling smile.  "I told him, Sr. Janine, Father, Sr. Janine." We giggled at Fr. Alex's lapse in memory.  It was amazing that he served as a chaplain at Parkland Hospital to over 1000 Catholic patients and still remembered the location of our convent. "Oh yes, oh yes,...
Read more