Wake-up call

Sun rising over a hazy city
with palms sprouting
from disheveled sidewalks
of filth, brokenness, and hope.
Dirt, trash, deterioration
outlined in soft, worn pastels.
A couple grinds flour,
school uniforms glide past me,
all with shy smiles
and opened eyes.
Burma.

(From journal, Rangoon, August 21, 2008)

Expectations

the person you expect.
expectations.
so i was not perfect
enough
to fit your every need,
you with more expectations,
more criticisms of not my own inward struggle.
aren't unmet expectations saying,
not good enough?
what do you expect?
with too many expectations.

i am, me.
good enough and more,
to exceed all your
expectations.
but indeed perfection
is not my truth.
expect imperfection
and truth.
i am,
not an expectation.