Mel Xiao Published in Blue Marble Review

Photo by Cristian Newman

This poem by Mel Xiao ’18 was published in the January 2017 issue of The Blue Marble Review. Mel’s work has also appeared in The Apprentice Writer, Black Fox Literary Magazine and Cicada Magazine.  She won a Bronze Medal for Poetry in the NJCTE High School Writing Competition and a Gold Key in Scholastic Art and Writing. She performed her work at the Dodge Poetry Festival at NJPAC in October 2016. When not procrastinating and worrying about upcoming exams, Mel reads, sings, and volunteers in and with her school. (PS: Her favorite ice cream flavor is Ben and Jerry’s “The Tonight Dough with Jimmy Fallon”.)

A Thought

After I die,
I will wander the world
the way I’ve always wanted to,
see the cherry blossoms in DC
and the broken ground of the Berlin Wall
and the barren earth of the DMZ
where the voices but not the souls of the others gone
linger.

And eventually
I will tire of the earthly things
that tower but do not speak.
Somehow I’ll find my way back home,
where I’m sure my grandmother will be waiting
sunlight warming the joints that no longer ache
watering her aloe plants
and a bowl of my favorite fried rice on the table.