by Charles Pen Khek Chear
there were
the short jokes
the mahalos
and when my eyes close,
the smile.
there is family
where tatay
leaves one paradise for another
and where tatay
becomes, perennial love at sea.
there is all of us
who knew niki for some days
or many years
there is still
all of us
who will remember
by loving, like libarios.
Charles Pen Khek Chear is a former member of East Meets Words, an open mic and arts program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Charles is a teaching instructor and doctoral student at Rutgers University School of Social Work.
Hawaii Pacific Review 