SCENT POETRY
Behind the Scent

Star-gazing at our past lives, searching for all the connecting pieces ~ When looking within becomes too difficult, we look to the calmness of nature. “We’re smaller than dust. God doesn’t always see us. But it’s okay, as long as we see each other.” — Translated, The Narrow Road (2022) While driving through the eastern side of Jeju Island (Korea) during a holiday, I discovered a stream of cedarwood trees that adorned both sides of the serpentine road. Faced with a sere

A detour spectacle ~ A series of convergent and divergent chapters. As a first-generation Asian American, the immigrant dream often is to build a foundation in the new home. Integrating ourselves with higher education, corporate pathways, deeply rooted relationships, all in pursuit of the American dream. And yet, over time, there’s a gradual pull back towards our cultural origins, as if returning to a place that never fully left us. Perhaps not what our ancestors had in m

Aspirations of a bubble gum ~ The smallest bubble can be the most significant one. My 9-year old daughter displays a series of adolescent curiosities which I deem as her greatest hits. One particular discovery in the spotlight, is her first piece of chewy confectionary, the bubble gum. Witnessing the growth in real-time, warped me back to my own childhood infatuation with bubble gum. From the unwrapping to the opening pitch, a series of rhythmic chews masticates the gum, pr

An unidentified self transformation ~ A chronicle of my coming of age through the fruits of the mandarin tree. Our identity goes through many iterations and chapters of change. A process of transformation that often is unrecognizable when you look back at your humble beginnings. In many instances, I fear the challenge of the unknown, or possibly letting go the comfort of certainty. A chronicle of the mid-chapters that ushered me into adulthood, can be traced to a familiar l

What is discovered, can be lost ~ lost /lôst/ adjective something that has been taken away or cannot be retrieved unable to find your way or path What happens when a familiar scent is disconnected from the fabric of my childhood memory. Personally, I hardly lose things. Even when I misplace something, I can often map and track my way back to relocating the item. Not sure if it’s a gift, but having some level of mindfulness and being detail oriented has definitely helped. Wh

How I dealt with the impermenance of life ~ Offering my own meaning of letting go and moving on, I turned to my scent discovery of Immortelle and the journey through the imagery tranquility of Étretat, France. Everything is impermanent, no matter how sweet or difficult. — yung pueblo, Lighter I struggle with the word “forever”. From adolescence to adulthood, my understanding of forever has evolved into a completely different meaning. Through the trials and tribulations,