Back then,
I had no idea
Ramen was cheap food
For families without much money
With growing kids
Like me and my sister
Who just needed
Something hot and good
To eat.

We just knew
That it made a good lunch.

My father
Had shortcuts
To making it
Much better.

First,
You need
Spicy ramen.

Nothing else will do.

Next,
Chop up some
Mushrooms and green onions
And add them
While the broth is boiling.

Then,
Right before you serve it,
Crack a raw egg
Into the hot broth.

Wait for a minute
And stir.

I guarantee you
This will be
One of the best meals
You will ever have,
Especially in winter
While you are looking outside
At the snow.

D.H. Lee

(via Swanksalot)

It has been ages
Since I’ve heard from
Most of you.

However,
That was to be expected;
The telephone, as I’m quite aware,
Works two-ways.

I simply hope
All is well
As the new year approaches.

It is easy to wish
For all the riches of the world
To fall upon your lap,
But I am quickly learning
That it means nothing
Without good health
And lots of love
To keep you company.

So as the cold nights linger,
I hope you are warm,
Well fed,
And feel love,
For there is truly
No greater light
That could guide you home.

D.H. Lee

(via Swanksalot)

You try again,
Failing in the task
Brought before you
By a pair of cold hands.

Again,
You strike the metal,
That sound ringing
Across the empty plain.

This is what you do
And how you see it:

Swords crossed
Upon your desk
In perpetual tension.

This is what I do
And how I see it:

Everything is water.

D.H. Lee

(via Swanksalot)

When we were young,
Immigrant life
Was hard enough.

My poor parents,
They bought us
All sorts of gifts
With money we didn’t have,
Nonetheless.

Now, older,
We don’t care much
About presents.

We are just trying
To be happy
With what we have.

I feel like
We’re turning
Into cranky
Old people.

D.H. Lee

(via Swanksalot)

But your dreams,
They begin and end
In California,
While mine,
They’ve always stayed put
Here, in goddamn Chicago.

I don’t know
If it’s just stars
In your eyes
Or if there really is
Something out there
For you.

You’re almost asking
Too much.

But for you,
I might consider
Taking that chance.

D.H. Lee

(via Swanksalot)

You are the only person
I’ve ever met at a bar
That I’ve ever
Kept in touch with.

Truth be told,
I had a crush on you
Right off the bat,
But that was to be
Expected.

Now you and
Your boyfriend,
Who looks like
A war photographer,
Are very happy together.

I also have a girlfriend,
Who I love very much,
But sometimes
It’s hard not to wonder
What would have happened
If I ever had the balls
To kiss you.

D.H. Lee

(via Swanksalot)

Just imagine the very same beautiful woman
Squatting on the toilet tonight with a crunched look on her face
     for the expensive salad she ate for dinner
     was made with hands that were very, very, unclean.

D.H. Lee

(I like this one, even though it’s also a bit old.)

(via Swanksalot)

In dreams my memories all look different on
     the surface
But deep down they are the same in the way
     they feel
     to me.

In this dream we were just taking a walk.
The city was deserted; nobody was there but
     you and me.
Just an ordinary dream.
I almost wished it had been more surreal.

When I woke in my empty bed
Dust played in the bars of light filtering onto
     the pillow
And the only thing I could think about
Was how much I missed
     You.

D.H. Lee

(This is an older one about someone I miss, very much. I definitely sound younger.)

(via Swanksalot)

Whenever my friends
Read these poems
I know at least a few
Were secretly looking
For mentions
Of themselves.

How could I capture
Someone in
Just a few stanzas?

That task is impossible.

It takes more
Than a few words
To accurately describe
Any human being.

There are so many things
I love about
Every single person
I’ve ever met.

Capturing a person
In a poem
Is like stuffing the universe
Into a mason jar.

D.H. Lee

(via Swanksalot)

Now that I have
A live-in girlfriend
My priorities,
They’ve all changed.

I can’t daydream so much
About becoming a famous writer,
Because the words “famous writer”
Still don’t mean
“Fat paycheck.”

I wouldn’t look good
In tweed (nobody does)
And I don’t feel like
Becoming an asshole professor
Only interested
In his own pursuits
Rather than nurturing
His own students.

Sparrow is a student now,
Returning for her Bachelor’s degree
After some years as an actor –

So if I went,
Jumped off that bridge
And started pursuing
My own pipe dreams…

We’d both starve to death.

Good thing
I’m a pretty good
Account executive.

Even though I hate
Saying those very words,
I do like a good meal
And a place to sleep
Every single night.

Compromises
Make me feel
Like much less
Of a person.

I still wonder
If I’m spoiled
For wanting
All these
Goddamn dreams
To come true.

Every
Single
One.

D.H. Lee

(via Swanksalot)