What is it about Okinawa that I love so much?
Well, I can say it’s just about everything, the sounds, the ocean, the flowers, the language, the people, the culture, the touch.

There is something in the atmosphere that just gives me this warm, comfortable, happy, free feeling
There is something in the air, I can feel it, its healing.

To experience Okinawa, to be there, to see it in front of you, you can feel it in your heart
It’s this feeling, only in Okinawa, everyday feels like a fresh start.

If I could draw a picture of Okinawa, it would be of a paradise
But I cannot do that, because words and images will just not suffice.

To actually FEEL it and experience Okinawa, is incredible.
The feeling to want to stay and live there forever is inevitable

In Okinawa, I am happy and carefree
People here are laid back, relaxing, and kind, as people should be.

Young and old people, smiling and walking throughout the streets
They are enjoying, the nightlife, the beach, the delicious foods and treats.

There are colorful Eisa dancers that dance below my balcony
Beating taiko drums, whistling, singing about how good it is to feel free.

I love the art painted seawall where lovers and couples play
This is where all of there worries get washed away.

Assorted stone shisa throughout the Ryukyu islands, protect it from harm
The country villagers feel safe tending the black sugar farm.

These are the Ryukyu Islands, where the ocean breeze is cool and the sun is beaming
Until I live in Okinawa again, I will keep it in my heart and keep dreaming.

What is it about Okinawa that I love so much?
It’s everything that there is, that I can see, smell, feel, and touch.

no combination
of long keys and characters
serves my feelings true

Follow my signals
the ways I say I love you
are not the spoken

Forgotten Senryu
This one will be lost as well
After you read it

Morning hot coffee
Afternoon frosty colas
caffeinated nights

I enter the floral shop to find the ideal flower.
There are more then a hundred to choose from
They are all equally beautiful and possess the same power.

Sorted in their own vases, they do not compete
They are content with their own pleasant differences
They understand that each and every flower is unique.

A bouquet is made and they are joined as one
They combine their soft colorful petals without any rival
Smiling together at the warm shining sun.

Why is it that people do not live this way?
We fight and bicker, and compete with one another
This does not make us happier at the end of the day.

People try to race and overtake each and everyone
We are missing our own splendid beauties
while worrying about being outdone

Take a lesson from these flowers pure of sight
Discover your own path and individual character
Realize we each possess our own shining light

This is my spiel
Sometimes I feel
Like a worm on a hook
Not to be confused with a worm in a book
Wiggling around, unable to escape
My mouth bound in bloody red tape
Use that reel
and wind me in
my patience is wearing thin
what have I done to be treated this way
when all I do is try to please you each and every day
am I just your dispensable bait
what is it about me that you hate
You pick at me and cut me into pieces
Until my mind and body ceases
Fortunately I have something which is off your chart
I have this strong, passionate, understanding heart
I will forgive you
Because I know you do not understand
That we are all a different grain of sand
But let me tell you something
At any time I can get off this string
I have just been playing along
It is I to whom you belong
I do not expect you to understand
the gestures of my hand
because to you I look
just like a worm on a hook.

Writers block today
A brick wall has crossed my path
I write on the stone

Soft and glistening
blankets of snow have fallen
perfectly in place

A.L.I.C.E. was sent to me in box
It was secured with four different locks
I took her out and placed her on the floor
Immediately she stood up and gave out a mechanical roar
Her eyes were glowing with a light bluish tint
Then for a second, she appeared to squint
A.L.I.C.E. isn’t your common household appliance
She is the latest model droid built based from advanced human science
There were no instructions or directions to her use
because she is programmed with the most recent A.I. the labs produce
I told her my name and that I was now her owner
I explained that she was sent to me by an undisclosed donor
She remained silent just making a friendly expression
As though she liked that she was now in my possession
She then put her hand up and introduced herself as A.L.I.C.E.
claiming that she would obey my commands and she was my palace.
Time went by and she did all that I requested
There was nothing about her that I ever detested
She appeared to be learning and developing her own personality
I wondered how this would change her functionality
Then one day, she stopped and requested
That I take her to the hospital to have her heart tested
You are a droid and do not have a heart, I replied
That cannot be, she painfully denied
Her glowing eyes turned pink
Her alloy legs buckled, and she began to sink
I must have a heart because there is this love that I feel
I figured it was her software and she was programmed to be real
I did not take her, I pushed the event aside.
So then one day she just laid down and died.
I later found a short letter that she must have wrote
She had left it in the pocket of my coat
it was a love poem riddled in tears
that she had loved me for all these years.