s w i f t s  &  s l o w s: a quarterly of crisscrossings

Dear Wanderer
Cindy Rinne & Bory Thach

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Dear Wanderer: Yin and Yang

Storm clouds gather in the heavens,
forming a small planet with its smoky black
and white scales.

The divine dragon appears
over its surface. Born out of the calm without end
or beginning, I float beyond sleep before awakening.

A meteorite falling to earth,
red lightning of the phoenix.

Still you choose me on the path
to reincarnation, a sparkling fish
swimming upstream until reaching perfection.
You, a snow-colored heron, dance along
frozen ponds, raising crow feathers.

Purity and stillness.

The harp’s melody quiets, I look through faithful
eyes to find you shining in the dark. A clear night
sky above an ocean made of glass.

Yours forever, Nomad

Dear Nomad: Conscious Presence

If I place quartz stones in a stream, will the sparkle in moonlight
draw you near like salmon longing for home?

Home is within me

Where it is safe, and nothing hurts

Where I find contentment

If I drink from Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, will I pass into new life
as hunter or wolf? Will you know me?

Nowhere

Here

Home is my breath and my pulse

If a white butterfly flickers by a pond, are my ancestors sending a message
from you or do my dreams reach?

Still looking

Love, Wanderer

Dear Wanderer: Rebirth

Falling into this eternal cycle of love and hate, will you follow me
until the end of time? Would you remember my name?

Sacrifice

Before

An altar of bone and flesh, bodies become ash

In the evening, I catch the gentle moonlight
and wait. Will your spirit grace me as morning starlight?

All are but a speck of dust

Caught in a sunbeam

The soul goes on living, and takes on a new body

If I come back as a blue butterfly in your dreams, will you recognize my presence
or sacredness?

Never-ending

Yours forever, Nomad

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Bory Thach was born in a refugee camp located on the border between Thailand and Cambodia.  His family immigrated to the United States when he was four years old. He is now an MFA graduate from California State University San Bernardino.Part of why Bory loves to write is to enter a kind of sacred space with his fellow writers.  This has led him to collaborate with his good friend, Cindy Rinne, on a book project they envisioned together. They also have performed part of the book, “Letters Under Rock” in “50/50, FIFTY/FIFTY, The Creative Magic of Collaboration” curated by Conchi Sanford at the Progress Gallery in Pomona, CA. Fiction and creative nonfiction fall under the art of storytelling, while poetry for him is more of a study of language, an art form in itself.

Cindy Rinne creates art and writes in San Bernardino, CA. She is the Poet in Residence for the Neutra Institute Museum and Gallery in Silver Lake, CA. Cindy is the author of seven books: Mapless with Nikia Chaney (Cholla Needles Press), Moon of Many Petals (Cholla Needles Press), Listen to the Codex (Yak Press), Breathe In Daisy, Breathe Out Stones (FutureCycle Press), and others. She is a founding member of PoetrIE, a literary community and a finalist for the 2016 Hillary Gravendyk Prize. Her poetry appeared or is forthcoming in: Anti-Herion Chic, Outlook Springs, Storyscape Journal, Cholla Needles, Event Horizon Magazine, The Halcyone Literary Review, several anthologies, and others.