I relish the pace of earthquakes,
the tautness of fierce wit.  Lusting
to draw out nods of praise, I seek
to brand my eyes with bold, new conquests.

But I who scurry to make events happen,
desire to know what it is like to be
reconciled with my passions.  For when he
pulls me aside to tell me he likes me,

or when she informs me how proud she is
of me — except for my stretch of lips and
blinks of reciprocity — I remain
impassive, unaffected and alone.

But on Sunday, with Han-lun on my lap,
her parents to my right, and we, embedded
in a body of families, welcome
baptisms of faith, professions gone public,

on that seventh day, my battles with toil
cease, and as the realm of my control lies
within avowals of sublime forgiveness,
a sanctum given by the Son of Man,
I accept my circumstances with peace.

-Tsai