After Allen Ginsberg

Sleep is holy
where I revisit chambers
of my childhood home

So is waking
to coffee with cream and Sweet’n Low
where even the grime on my mug
is holy

Starbucks is holy too
not for its seven-dollar lattes
but the effervescence
of its sparkling water
for two seventy-five

It’s holy to sit
under a green canopy
which shields me from the sun
that is holy for shining

Strangers are holy
when they talk business
in my native tongue
as all languages are holy
with their holy nuances

Anonymity is holy
so is distant cordiality
so are greetings
sometimes with emoji
that mimic feelings
with their yellow faces

Yellow faces are holy
as all faces
and all hands
are holy
as the creator
is holy
for bringing this world
to my consciousness
which is holy

~

Bio: Jackie Chou is a writer from Southern California who has two collections of poetry, The Sorceress and Finding My Heart in Love and Loss, published by cyberwit. Her poem “Formosa” was a finalist in the Stephen A DiBiase Poetry Prize. She has recent work in Synchronised Chaos and The Ekphrastic Review.