|
               _________     \ _ /              ོོོོ
              |#########|  -= (_) =-     _     ོོོོ  ོོོོ
  ========    |NMNMNMNMN|    /   \     _|-|_
 |!.!.!.!_|___|MNMNMNMNM|      |      |=-=-=|
 |.!.!.!|  [][][] |NMNMN|             |-=-=-|_._._._.
 |!.!.!.| [][][]  |MNMNM|            _|=-=-=|HHHHHHH|
 |.!.!.!|  [][][] |NMNMN|   _^^^^^^_|-=-=-=-=-|HHHHH|
 |!.!.!.| [][][]  |MNM__|..|++++++++|=-=-=-=-=|HHHHH|______
 |.!.!.!|  [][][] |N_( ')' );' .)***|-=-=-=-=-|HH|: : : : :|
 |!  _ !| [][][( )|(. ` ,) (_ ', )++|=-=-=-=-=|HH| : : : : | ~~~
 |  (.) |  [][(`.')_(_ ')_,)(. _)***|-=-=-=-=-|HH|: : : : :|~~  ~~
 | (.`')|  ( .)' . )MM|M|| |++|+++++|=-=-_______ | : : : : | ~~~~ ~
 | (: _)| (`. ')__)---|@@'  ``|`````|-=-/\      \|: : : : :|~~~  ~~~
     |  |  (_'_)| |    ______   @@@ ___/  \__/\__\__ : : : |\~~~~ ~~~
|=|  |@@ ''''|''. `.-``~~~ *𖥧``-.  /\___\ |''''''|__\`````` / ~~~  ~~~
             |@@  (  *𖥧 ~~ ~~ *𖥧 ) ||'''| |''||''|''|@@    /~~~    ~~~~
west lake          '-.._~~__~..-'  ``"""`"`""))""`""`     /  ~~~~ ~~~~~~
hanoi, vietnam                     𖠋    |=|       |=|  .-'~~~~~     ~ ~~
_."._."_."._."_."._."_."._."_."._."_."._."_."._."_."._."~~~~~    ~~~ ~~~~
streams of blinking headlights cicada husks along the stone embankment the hum of distant traffic still water newborn dragonflies drying their wings last buses
stranded on thanh nien street the lone paper mulberry tree noon chess battles couples spaced evenly apart the city across the water night vendor calls
where time slowed down greeted by the temple dogs a persimmon sunset golden shower trees in bloom night fishermen sidewalk tea stall the summer we buried our dog
the sun plays crystal with my eyes 39°c in july got scolded by dad milkwood in the evening air the mid-autumn lantern parade the walk home afraid of ghosts
summer sky stretching high above holding onto my hat mom said not to trust the water homebound birds lotus fading in late summer after fireworks
lovegrass grown thick after the rain distant temple bells the year's first cold morning our first winter cold cold drizzle meteor shower at 2am under a cloudy sky
winter mornings, skipping school 50 words for snow on repeat grilled corn 3 am runs 17 kilometers of sadness the cry of the golden buffalo beneath everything felt smaller then
where the nine-tailed fox fell floodwaters overflowing the banks sunken city to the end of the west 5.26 km² empty benches where i forgave myself
days spent searching for coots january morning fog sending off the golden carp 5 am without the city 21°3′18″N 105°49′12″E nothing but the wind where my tuxedo cat came to rest