Non-fiction

What thoughts I have of you as I walk down autumnal streets
Or stroll along narrow supermarket aisles, lugging Henry James around
I imagine running into you in my self-absorbed solitariness
Managing to master my face, speaking coolly like it's no big thing
That it was a matter of course, bound to happen like an oracle, fate.
We'd smile as though we've remained fast friends all this time
And there's nothing to be forgiven, no deprecations to be taken back
You'd be pleasantly surprised and glad like a spontaneous fictional heroine
Perhaps you'd plant a kiss on my warm cheek or envelope me in a hug
I'd tell you I've had a good life--after all--as content as poets could be
And I'd give you a compliment, some literary cliche, and ask you about you,
Hardly listening to your enumerations I'd focus on the lines on your face
We'd say goodbye on the friendliest terms, satisfied with how all of that went,
Happily convinced that it was random and doesn't need to bear deep meaning
And as though already standing on the banks of Lethe, we'd barely wonder
About the what ifs and what should have beens--that wide lost world of love

days like this III

I dream of fleeing this land of rain
And leaving it to its sullen incredulous sky
Say farewell to the pale tangerine walls
The drab fall scarves, the winter that hides pain
The faithfully tardy trains, the grimy metros
The high gothic towers pointing elsewhere
All the paintings of delirious adoration and agony
Of lost myths of heroes and petty gods

I dreamt of flying to that land sparkling in the sea
And seeing it peopled by small bright faces
Gasped at the old Spanish walls, the makeshift roofs
The designer sneakers and jeans, the dusty well-worn shirts
The sleek foreign cars, the decaying buses
The high-rise condos all living elsewhere
All the images of daily agony and adoration
Of lost promises, heroes, and petty gods

my post-exam reactions

Modernism: What the? That was unfair!

Romanticism: Okay, at least promises were kept. . . No surprises there.

English as a Germanic Language: Wait, I need a minute to pray.

Postmodernism: Of course I get a question about the book I know and like least! Lucky I heard my classmate’s (who was already in front of the prof responding to his questions about the same book) answers while preparing my oral presentation.

Realism: Ooh ooh lucky easy question! 

Culture and History of the UK&US: And I memorized all the dates! (It wasn't necessary.)

Advanced English Practice: That was it??? At least now I know stuff about pandas.

English Grammar 2: Aaargh! I thought it was all about modality and making tree structures?!

Development of English: I hate everyone.

Introduction to the Study of Literature in English: Now, that wasn’t so bad!