Tag: Narrative Poem

Meghana

Posted on by Emilyn in Prose

In the reflection of the sunrise,
a cloud disrupts the clear sky with one single tear,
and I can see the joy in the eyes of those who held you first:

White, and pure into their hands, before it evaporates. Notice how she smiles, molding into the palms of your hands, but she may stay or leave you, no matter what she’ll leave you a mark of goodness, reminding you that it exists. It might be an unparticular date, January 27th, but the clouds still form. There might be rain, maybe snow today, perhaps hail, but this cloud stands alone, brushing dust off the back of her hand to start waving, whispering her wishes in a bashful hush. “Something ought to come out of those clouds, something out to come of me.”  Twisting through the white-blue sky, a background of blue snow, her words are a reason to become winded. She becomes all of the elements of the sky that one holds between their fingers while their head is tilted back and up blinded by the brightness of the sky. You don’t even know. Within you, you’ve shared stories, and painted in breezes. Illusions unfold, and rewind together within you sometimes you escape once again though… you always return to watch over me once again. Sometimes, you will not say a word, but in visuals you write in strength, smiles and hope – aspiring to inspire. You grow in shapes and sizes, aside the bright sun, and you’re a cloud. You can become everything and anything here or even beyond the white-blue skies.

It feels like a cotton breeze,
as I watch the sun rise, and you appear.
“Meghana,” they call you.

–               Emilyn Nguyen, Meghana

The Present & Future

Posted on by Emilyn in Poetry

There is no future without the present day.

There is no present without an idea of the future.

Perhaps this is where our problems begin.

I wish I could be able to live more in the present,
but my head is always dreaming about a future.
I forget that I have to get there first.

I don’t have a future yet –
it has yet to only exist in my dreams.
So I lay my head down walking on clouds, as a dreamer.

I do not know what will happen –
Nothing is for certain, but for the sake of shame,
I admit it is the only thing that I have control over.

Now – Day by Day for and to a Future Anew.

I’ll admit that I carry a fear of the future,
its aura of mysterious vines and suspenseful drapes.
In my dreams , I am able to a push them aside,

Now – Dreaming of the Present,
What I must do for a New Future.

Finally, something we can agree on.

–         Emilyn Nguyen, The Present & Future

Hide and Seek

Posted on by Emilyn in Poetry

It took a long while for you to find me
through our treasure trove.
Look for me, and an acquisition it was,
my heart treaded to your tarantella.

Through the white desert sandy blankets and the spilled seas,
you came to search for me.
Closets, Hidden Hatches, Attics,
I told you to find me, come protect me.

Despite the tedious counting, you told me you were coming.
I questioned if you had surrendered to your fear of fear,
so you could win one battle against these chromosomes.
I thought I’d be lost forever, that you’d be lost forever.

Marco to the Polo,
crimson tie-dye on your childish shirt,
Colors wanting to collide, to bond but only,
Stuck between two intersecting ways of a chromatography-inked maze.

I yelled, “Over here!” to help you,
only to confuse you with the echoes drumming in your ears.
I was paralyzed in time, tick to the tock, dusk to dawn.
Waiting – hinting you by ruckuses, pots and pans,
making it easier for you, from my love for you.

Only until you reached my hiding spot,
your face became blank, striking with fear in your soft cheeks,
I had realized you weren’t looking for me, in a childish game:
You were looking for a hiding spot of your own.

–         Emilyn Nguyen, Hide And Seek

Note from the Poet:
This poem is about my cousin, who had been diagnosed with Down Syndrome. When we were younger, we enjoyed the simplest of life’s pleasure such as ‘Hide and Seek’. He is the most clever little [maybe not so little anymore] boy. He is the brightest kid I know. Despite his disorder, I was never so proud of him each and every day developing like any other kid in the world. Labeling him disabled was never an option. There was a never ending quality to him that some of are missing in our lives everyday: happiness.

One out of seven hundred babies each year are born with Down Syndrome. Genetically common, four hundred thousand people in the United States harbor this condition. When Down Syndrome occurs when an individual has a a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. The enticing material alters the course of development leading to health problems and causes the characteristics associated with Down Syndrome: low muscle tone, small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm.

I came across a program that gears independent fundraisers interested in raising money on behalf of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS):

NDSS Your Way is an online program geared towards independent fundraisers interested in raising money on behalf of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). Participants in this program create personalized fundraising web pages in support of an event or individual pursuit. Each individual event is hosted independently and oversight is provided by  NDSS.

Fundraisers are invited to create a customizable web page in one of three categories—Compete, Celebrate and Create—no matter which category you choose, your personal page can pay tribute to someone who inspires and motivates you.

As a Fundraiser, you are helping to further the mission of the National Down Syndrome Society. NDSS works to create a culture that values, accepts and includes the more than 400,000 Americans with Down syndrome. NDSS envisions a world in which all people with Down syndrome have the opportunity to enhance their quality of life, realize their life aspirations, and become valued members of welcoming communities.

I encourage everyone to check out the website and donate.

– Emilyn Nguyen, Hide and Seek