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Poet Index

Giles Li

Giles Li is one-half of the Asian American spoken word group re: verse. They dropped their debut CD - Regarding Verse - in 2002 and he published his first chapbook - The Only Poet Left is Me - in 2001. He lives and works in Washington, DC; he writes in the bathroom. He grew up in the Boston area and loves Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, De La Soul and his mom. He is intimidated by poets with too many credentials.

He's kind of a nerd.

regardingverse.com

Hot Flashes

Women get older
Menopause must be awful
Define life for me

delaware

i'm halfway to philly
on a crowded train
with people sitting in the aisle
and one woman who refuses to be made an
artificial friend

trees pass by at the
speed of a memory
and i wish i hadn't
thrown my bottle of water away

i pull out my "poet" notepad
and try to write about you
yet again
but something catches my eye outside
and i am too distracted
to think of you

a young asian woman maybe
a high school senior
shoulders crinkled
eyes forgotten
head swept to the side
as though we weren't in delaware
and something is different

strange but/thus beautiful

she traces her knuckle across her cheek
and waves with four fingers
at someone boarding the train

a young asian man maybe
a college freshman
jaw clenched
fingers nervous
head tilted upward
as though
someone had asked
"what do you love most about life?"
and he just realized the answer
and kissed it goodbye for another two months

he stands in the doorway
motionless and heavenless
and blinks as an afterthought
to breathing
i was too distracted
to think of you
so how come now
i can't think of anything else?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .