In response to my family’s worries of surviving covid in prison:

I am alive and well, although real life
is adjacent to where I reside.
A boundary that distorts one’s visions at times.
I shall survive and thrive.
I am in fate’s domain, a detour of
bewildering burdens that I am not
to comprehend at times.
Survive and thrive, a trait no doubt
bestowed to entertain the fates.

For my dad’s 60th birthday:

Thirst

Our thirst for wine
Once quenched
We’ve become somber

Our desire for knowledge
Once acquired
Intoxication

Earthly herbs aroma
Stellar scents of dust
Yet experienced