=Challenges <h4>i.</h4> I cannot stand conformity; Collective mindset kills. We should do what we think right — We should each heed our own wills. <h4>ii.</h4> I'm a woman who prefers notoriety To leading a typical life of piety. But if I care so little for propriety, What good am I to general society? =The Ways of the World <h4>i.</h4> Nameless millions have walked this earth, Laughed and cried and struggled from birth. Such is the way of our great race — God, we're really crowding this place! <h4>ii.</h4> Consider, if you will, The grandest scheme of all: We will only live 'til We heed the Reaper's call. Nobody is exempt From this encroaching fate; Nothing that you attempt Prevents this final state. Not only will we die, But when our loved ones go, No one will sanctify Our graves —              No one our names shall know. =Dear Mr. Campbell <h4>i.</h4> If I were twelve years younger, love, I'd promise you my heart; I'd swear to you, by God above, That we would never part. But oh, those dozen years have passed, If not for you, then me, And though I wish the years we'll last, We'll have to wait and see. <h4>ii.</h4> Young are you and so innocent; With you I've known much merriment. My source of cheer and happiness, We spend our time in play and jest; Yet still in you I can confide, And through your problems in turn guide. Though questions loom and I don't know Where in the end all this will go — What will happen, I could not tell — I don't intend to bid farewell. Know I will always be your friend And hope we'll meet a happy end. =A Moment's Fear Yesterday, as I lay in bed, I knew a moment's fear; A grieved thought came into my head: "Where are you now, my dear?" =Cynical Views of Art <h4>i.</h4> Art, they uphold, is what makes us sublime, Lifting mankind to the loftiest heights. But while apes do not draw, nor dolphins rhyme, Nor do they waste time pondering the nights. <h4>ii.</h4> What's so divine about Mondrian's lines? Picasso stood too close to his models. Kandinski drew shapes, though he drew them fine. Still-lifes just depict fruits lying by bottles. =Surprised <h4>i.</h4> — Today, my first love wrote me A note to say he'd called, Or rather, tried to no avail; I leave the ringer off. Six months ago he'd also tried, But 'til now, I had stalled. In ten years' span, I've nothing done... I'd been afraid he'd scoff. <h4>ii.</h4> so it's been set: he'll call again — he being the first man I adored. how <i>many</i> years? god, it's been <i>ten</i>?! what to discuss...? bet we'll be bored. =The Fool's Heart A restless, wayward, stupid heart Beats somewhere in that breast; It soars, careens, then dives and darts With hardly any rest. You'd think a heart as prone to hurt, Would learn to be more calm; But come a sweet, attentive flirt, It's off without a qualm. =Old Friend <h4>Uninvited</h4> I'd once been used to Emptiness, He'd come by every day. But then I met dear Happiness And sent the first away. But now my old friend has returned, Determined to stay true, And though his ways I've long since learned, I know not what to do. <h4>On a Certain Valentine's Day</h4> How empty feels my heart today: No desires, dreams, or songs to play. I do not wish for anything... Except to maybe see Beijing. =Obituary A love died very slowly; Its demise took many years. It withered on a shriveled stem, And no one shed a tear. =The Ghost at the Execution Unseen was she who silent stood; Aggrieved and weeping, it seemed speak she would — Then, as if impelled to act, Her lips did move and unheard words attacked: "You, who've gathered to witness death, Awaiting a man to draw his last breath, Know this is no true solution; His end will bring no one resolution. "You want to see my killer slain, But no death should ever relieve your pain. "My anguished loved ones, don't you see? Killing him won't undo his killing me. And if you yearn for this grim deed, You are but nurturing your own dark seed. "If his sentence must be to die, Pity him — let your hatreds buried lie."