Drawings and Markings by E. Hsu and
Photographs by Paul Hsu
Unfinished Poems: Abecedarian 23-139
A
Abandon me
or so it would seem
in my dream
in reality.
Act as if I exist.
Act as if you exist.
Act like you care.
Act like you don't.
Accuse me
falsely.
Alarm me again.
Alleviate my ailments.
Amuse me.
Anoint me with oil.
My empty cup fills
and brims and overflows
with milk and honey.
Antagonize me.
Appraise me.
Are you really
with me always?
Arrest me and chain me
and lock me away
to decay and rot in jail.
Astound me.
Attend the baseball game
with me. Angels field the plays.
B
Bake me a birthday cake.
Be with me.
Bear hug me.
Befuddle me.
Beguile me
with your smile.
Believe me
I can do this all day.
Believe me
it's better this way.
Bless me
with uncertainty.
Book me.
Bookmark me.
Bloom in me.
Blossom. Impossible blossom.
Break me like a horse.
Break up with me.
Breathe new life into me.
Bulldoze old buildings, of course.
C
Carry me across the stormy sea.
Catch me counting sheep
in a dream falling asleep
while walking and talking
deep in my sleep.
Center me with you.
Charm me with your charisma.
Cleave me into twelve
tribes and thirty pieces.
Color me
inside
outside
the lines
like chalk
on sidewalk.
Color me
with purple crayons.
Come away with me, please.
Condemn me
to certain death
without a hearing
hear me out.
Confound me.
Confuse me
with chaos.
Confuse me
with clarity.
Connect with me
emotionally
physically
spiritually.
Connive me.
Consider me
an enemy
of the state.
Consider me
inconsiderate.
Consider me
your best friend
your only friend.
Contradict me.
I contradict myself.
Converse with me.
Create in me
a greenhouse
of solar power
and receptivity.
Criticize me
my cooking
not by the book.
Cross me.
Cross your heart.
Crucify me
like Christ.
Crush me
like a soda
pop-up art can.
D
Dance with me.
Dare me to
just do it
over again.
Debug me.
Decimate me
like an earthquake's
seismic activity.
Delight me.
Depress me
like a country's
stagnant economy.
Desire me
my broken body.
Destroy me
like heat-seeking
missiles.
Devastate me
like a tsunami.
Devour me
greedily.
Die with me.
Digest me
slowly.
Disable me
completely.
Disappoint me
greatly.
Disgust me
righteously.
Dismiss me
suddenly.
Distract me
frequently.
Do me a favor
will you?
Draw me
too close
to you
like curtains.
Drive me
crazy.
Dye me
and my clothes
pistachio
avocado
mint green.
E
Electrify me
like an edgy
guitar.
Elevate me
like a no-name
superstar.
Embitter me
to the bitter end.
Embrace me
as one
of your own
members
of family.
Emphasize
my ethnicity
my identity
my poetry.
Empty me.
Empty my pockets.
Encircle me
like an army.
Enclose me
like love
letters
money
in red envelopes.
Encourage me
to make money
to give away
to charity.
Enervate
my energy.
Engage me
as hostility.
Ensnare me.
Erase me
my ethnicity
my identity
my poetry.
Excuse me?
F
Fail me.
Fast with me.
Fill me up with gas.
Fill me with the Holy Spirit.
Fill my head with nonsense.
Fill my life with beauty.
Fill my nostrils with incense.
Fill my stomach with butterflies.
Finish me off.
Finish what you started.
Fire me like a paintball gun.
Fire me out of a cannon.
Flabbergast me.
Foil my plots.
Follow me around
the block
like a dog
the house
like a cat.
Forget me.
Forget me not.
Forgive me not.
Form me
in my mother's womb.
Forsake me
like your son.
Freak me out.
Free me from Assyrian
and Babylonian
captivity.
Friend me on Facebook
and like my likenesses.
Frighten me
with Holocaustic
history.
G
Get me going.
Get me out of here.
Get out of my house.
Give me joy.
Give me oil
in my lamp.
Keep me burning.
Go with me
to the grocery.
Google me.
Grace me
with the garland
of your presence.
Greet me
with a high five
or a secret handshake.
Greet me
with a holy kiss.
H
Hate me.
Have me.
Have nothing
to do
with me.
Heal me
because
we believe
in healing.
Heart me.
Hide yourself
from me
behind clouds
enemy lines.
Hire me
in the middle
of the interview.
Hold me close.
Hurt me
because
we believe
in hurting.
I
Identify me
as a foreigner
as a refugee
as a resident
as a stranger
as a student
as a threat
as harmless
as heathen
as helpless
as homeless
officially
unofficially.
Identify me
as an alien
as an immigrant
as an outsider
as an unbeliever
on my green card.
Ignore me.
Impress me.
Imprison me.
Infuriate me.
Injure me.
Interrogate me.
Interrupt me.
Intimidate me.
Inundate me.
Irrigate me.
Irritate me.
Isolate me.
J
Jest surely
infinitely.
Join me in celebration.
Joke with me.
Jump rope with me.
K
Keep me.
Keep me guessing.
Keep me healthy.
Keep me honest to God.
Keep me in one piece.
Keep me out of trouble.
Kick me out
of the house.
Kick my butt.
Kiss me
on my cheeks
and on my lips.
Knit me together
by hand and weave me
together strand by strand.
Know me inside out
and outside in and right
side up and upside down.
L
Leave me alone.
Leave me behind.
Let me be.
Let me go.
Love me.
Love me not.
Love me truly
unconditionally.
M
Make me beautiful
in space and time.
Make me mad about you
all the time.
Make love
and music.
Make me sick
and throw up.
Make peace
in the Middle East.
Meditate with me.
Mess with me.
Miss me?
Mistake me for somebody else?
Misunderstand me
intentionally.
Mourn with me.
Mystify me.
N
Negate me
in my negativity.
Number my days.
Number the hairs
on my head.
O
Order American Born Chinese.
Order me around.
Order takeout.
P
Pass me.
Pass me by.
Pay attention to me.
Perceive me
with perfect
clarity.
Persecute me
because
we believe
in poetry.
Persuade me
with poetry.
Pierce me
with earrings
and other
piercings.
Pinch me
for not
being green.
Play hide and seek with me.
Play Legos with me.
Play with me.
Plead with me.
Poke and prod me.
Pray for me.
Pray with me
in the sanctuary.
Predestinate me to free will.
Prick me
indeed
I bleed
you bleed.
Propose to me
on one reconstructed knee.
Prosecute me
for burglary
or highway robbery.
Push and shove
me out the door
in order to succeed.
Q
Question everything.
Question me.
Question my methods.
Question my motives.
R
Raise me
as your child.
Raise me
on a farm.
Raze me
to the ground.
Reach me before
I am too late.
Read along with me.
Read aloud to me.
Read Chinese poetry.
Read Hebrew poetry.
Reboot me.
Rebuff me.
Receive me
as I am
as your are.
Recognize me
myself and I
in the other
in third person.
Regale me
with your tall tales.
Reinforce
my resolve.
Renovate
my house
is your house.
Resurrect me
from the grave
like Lazarus.
Reveal my prose
and cons.
Revise me.
Revive me.
Ride shotgun with me.
Root me
in fertile river soil.
Ruin me
with love.
Run with me
all the way
to the finish line.
S
Salivate
expectorate
wipe clean
the slate
of my eyes
now I see
walking trees.
Save me
for later.
Scan me
for vital signs.
Sculpt me
carefully.
Sculpt my body
classically.
Search me
for clues.
Shadow me
in Death Valley.
Shape me
like a sonnet.
Shield me
from fallout
radiation.
Shock me
with good news.
Shoot me
in the foot.
Shoot me
without warning.
Show me
your glory.
Shower me
with affection.
Silence me
with a thousand
silences.
Sing karaoke
with me.
Sit next to me.
Smile with me.
Say, cheese, please.
Spoil my plans.
Stay away
from me.
Stay by my side.
Stay with me.
Still me.
Surprise me.
Suspend me
between belief
and disbelief.
Swing me around
and around.
Swing with me.
T
Take me away.
Take me in.
Take me out.
Take me there, taxi.
Talk to me.
Talk with me.
Tease me.
Tell me
your story.
Tenderize me
like raw red meat.
Terrorize me.
Test me.
Test my patience.
Text me.
Think of me
constantly
fondly
kindly
not at all
often.
Torture me.
Toughen me.
Treat me.
Trick me.
Trip me up.
Trust me.
Try me.
U
Underestimate
story's relevancy
to society.
Understand
poetry
perfectly
if only
for a moment.
Unearth me
next century.
Unmask me
at the royal ball.
Unveil me
when you are
when I am
good and ready.
Usher me
into the movie.
V
Validate my parking pass.
W
Walk with me on the beach.
Walk with me on water.
Wash my feet
as white as snow.
Watch me.
Watch me grow
like a tree.
Watch me grow
up and old.
Write me long love letters,
love poems, love songs.
X-ray me
in radiology.
You and me.
You are with me always.
Zap me
like static
electricity.
Zip me up in a jumpsuit
ready to take the leap.
by Paul Hsu 4/30-5/1/15
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