Dear friendlies!
I’m so excited to share with you that my first book has found a home!
The
Heart’s Traffic (or known by many of you as the saga of Xiaomei) was
selected for publication by Eloise Klein Healy and will be published
through the Arktoi imprint of Red Hen Press (slated for 2009).
I’m thanking the community of folks who gave me inspiration, ass-kicking when I needed it, feedback for revision & love.
xoxo,
Ching-In
TODAY, I AM THE REALIZATION that I like myself more than ever, but there’s still a lot of work to do. TODAY, I AM THE REALIZATION that just because I didn’t go down one path doesn’t mean it’s closed to me forever. TODAY, I AM THE REALIZATION that I bring what I bring (since It Is What It Is retired last night).
I AM BEING what it could be. I AM BEING a pen hovering over a page in a book titled Dream Big in purple. I AM BEING adventure looking out a Chinatown bus window at the New York skyline fading past.
I AM RELEASING everything I realized about regret last decade. I AM RELEASING how challenging it is to write a poem with an embedded secret. I AM RELEASING the need to be so complicated.
I AM CREATING the intention to call forth the energies I need in my life. I AM CREATING necessary love for myself to survive and thrive. I AM CREATING love from many different sources, but for myself first.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MY LIFE is that last night, I searched for the heart of poems with people I love. I LOVE how late night stories from my cousins can make my dad, brother and I share laughter. I LOVE the intimacy and wildness of the good house party. I LOVE the return of late night phone chats with Aimee. I LOVE that I spent most of my money on good food and hot chocolate on the East Coast. I LOVE winter hotpot with my family. I LOVE hearing an interpretation of my past that makes me evaluate. I LOVE how a 3 minute conversation with Mars feels like 8 hours and that I got 2 “I am accessible” messages, letting me know he did not fall off the face of the earth forever. I LOVE how copying over a poem means inevitably it gets better. I LOVE that I see certain Californians only in NYC. I LOVE a late-night subway rendez-vous inflected by honeywine. I LOVE that the poem can be a source of the divine. I LOVE public transit. I LOVE drinking South African liquor that tastes like a kickin’ chocolate milk with Wendy and Eman. I LOVE that I psyched myself out for a freeze, but it’s warmer than I thought. I LOVE how the word ‘you’ can be so specific yet somewhat vague. I LOVE everything I might do this year. I LOVE that I’m planning on embracing my 3rd decade. I LOVE that I am not disappointed — everything fit into the palm of three weeks. I LOVE being the out-of-town guest who gathers people together. I LOVE sleeping without an alarm clock. I LOVE the No Big Deal approach to life. I LOVE homemade pancakes and lengthy afternoon talks with Saara. I LOVE being a connoisseur of the Japanese cream puff. I LOVE re-awakened erotic power. I LOVE bringing the good Dominican rum and soju.
I CELEBRATE AND NURTURE MY EXISTENCE as the cusp of transition, an open door, my next poem.
