To Dye or Not to Dye

To Dye or Not to Dye

That is my question. Tired of the fuss and muss and mess Of colored hair And seeing the silvery sensuous shimmering tresses of friends As they display the snowy icon of their status as elders. It makes me wonder… What splendid glory hides under my boxed color? What...
Banana Trunk

Banana Trunk

My brother Jo was circumcised at home when he was nine. I was thirteen. It was not unusual for three- to five-year-old boys to be circumcised at home in the 60’s in Malaysia. But to wait till your child was nine was almost irresponsible, and maybe even dangerous....
Thoughts from Under the Tree

Thoughts from Under the Tree

Thoughts from Under the Tree Sitting beneath the craggy live oak Its dappled shade falling on my own limbs So peacefully, So quietly. It’s a time to let my mind wander. So, why does it lead me to Wounds, both fresh and old Angers and affronts, both real and imagined?...
Chapter 2. Here comes the Son

Chapter 2. Here comes the Son

One of my earliest memories is running naked through the house after my evening bath to find my father, my Papa, for the nightly ritual of his taking me into his arms, and calling me his little “Naktfrosch” (naked frog). But it was not the frog label that stuck as a...
Unlikely Couple

Unlikely Couple

I lived the first half of my life trying to live according to whatever I was “supposed to do”.   My older brother was charming, handsome, and most importantly, male. My younger sister was fiercely independent with a bigger-than-life personality. I was the mousy,...