慢慢来 (little by little...)

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pole pole
we said in Kiswahili
mantra for social change
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patience is vital
for sustainability
clear and sure-footed
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small shifts in practice
can save thousands of lives
making it all worthwhile
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(above: community health workers Xiao Fei, Zhan Fei and Zhang Aiyi, me, Director Shi of the HIV/derm department at Hangzhou Number 6 People's Hospital, Dr. Yu, head of the inpatient unit, and Dr. Yu's 9-year-old son in front)
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delusion

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a man with a knife
squats outside the hospital
"give me medicines!"
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he yells at doctors
and anyone who'll listen
"i have HIV!"
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problem is, his tests
are all negative but he
doesn't believe it
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when being yourself and grasping chinese tradition don't mix well

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a young man dying
of end-stage AIDS infection
tells us he is gay
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as his wife sticks by
his bedside, fiercely loyal.
she's known all along.
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(and she still hasn't been tested for HIV)
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chongqing hot pot

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boiling red pork fat
passed on for generations
of feasting diners
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so spicy my mouth
is first on fire then loses
all its sensation
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i can't refuse food
from head of hospital
next day: diarrhea!
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a spent bloom

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it is spring outside
magnolia, plum blossoms
pink white firecrackers
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yet i spend all day
with sick, dying, angry folks
absorbing their pain
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i know things are bad
when i don't have energy
to write my haikus
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mini red bean mochi buns! (my new fave snack)

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thin delicate shell
airy, moist, chewy inside
ate 12 all at once

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Get 'em fresh out of the oven at a bakery in downtown Kunming called 'Just Hot' which most people here including the workers pronounce as "Jess Hao." Check out their philosophy in the photo. I got hooked the first time trying them after a 2 hour massage nearby (for less than $20 in a clean, private room!), and then went back 5 times only to find them sold out each time. Finally, i waited an hour on my last night in Kunming for a fresh batch. It was worth it. I want to figure out the recipe for these (rice flour, sugar, red bean, and squirt onto parchment paper with a pastry tube and bake?), so if you have any ideas, let me know!
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ancient modern (kunming)

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the mosque silhouette
sunset over jinbi square
reflected in glass
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xi shan (west hill)

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climbing red clay soil
highways, high-rises below
not a soul in sight
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organism

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just in case you have
small animals or microbes
to get off your hands
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haiku from the 30 cent glitter makeup case

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gather noble grace
enthusiasm seduce
the integral whole
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"It's vegetarian!" the saleslady said.

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Ingredients:
Beef Foam,
Cow liver germ powder,
Edibility.

i am not convinced.
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the bright side of jet lag: early morning dim sum, the breakfast of Champions.

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getting in at 3
wide wide awake at 7
dim sum feast at 8
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(The photo shows a bowl of wild fungus with bamboo pith and a plate of xia chang fen, steamed rice flour roll with shrimp, the handmade specialty at Federal Palace, the dim sum house next to my hotel in Hong Kong. Not bad for US$2.50. The two big floors of Federal Palace are packed with chatty women and dudes reading their morning papers by 8 am on weekdays.)
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is there a doctor on the plane?

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O, those dreaded words
at 35,000 feet
makes my pulse quicken
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a middle-aged man
completely unresponsive
for 2 intense hours
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we tried everything
naloxone, D50...
then, a miracle
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slowly he came to
squeezed my hand, said "OK"
everything's OK.
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ramen at the end of the tunnel

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diverting the plane
for emergency landing
a hard choice to make
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adding 8 hours and
2 stops to refuel, exhausted
good Samaritan
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Cathay Pacific
staff grateful, treats me to a
bowl of hot ramen
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