Like a spark in the darkness
Or a flash in the night,
The white horse appears beneath glowing moonlight.
Steady in speed with bold reserve,
Her wild hooves assault the earth.
Solid in form with mane flowing silver,
Bounding with grace over hurdles before her.
Against the shadows escaping eyesight
Can only the white horse be seen by the light.
by Garret Woo
7/13/2019
Fear not the final moment
Of all your hopes and dreams-
It dances with the future
In step with destiny.
Charge into the present
And seize without regret.
Just remember you are mortal,
Lest time make you forget.
Greet the end with Stoic thought,
Rich with memories from the past;
For when the Big Ship comes to port,
It’s come for you at last.
by Garret Woo
7/3/2019
As a lifetime resident of Los Angeles, the current spectrum of human experience in this city is tremendously vast. From homelessness to billionaires, less than five thousand square miles are home to nearly twenty million people. All forms of misery, bliss and everything in between coexist. Within this space, the populace allows the unique opportunity to observe the humanities – or at least be mindful of them.
At a glance, the practicality of studying anthropology, classics, history, languages, law, literature, philosophy, the arts or any other human societal discipline may seem pointless. In fact, as a graduate of classical studies now working in precision manufacturing, you don’t usually hear me translating Latin while calibrating durometers. It’s taught me nothing of operating machinery, CAD nor being dexterous.
Instead, studying the humanities taught a far deeper and overarching lesson: to be an inquisitive, diligent and critical thinker in everything I do. It provided the tools to excel in learning everything I didn’t know and to not only ask “how” something is done but more importantly “why”.
He who knows the “why” for his existence… will be able to bear almost any “how”.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) from his Twilight of the Idols
The mysterious instance,
That liminal moment before conception,
Bridges corporeal and unknown.
Offered again at the cusp of death
When the bridge’s path is shown.
Pressed between eternity,
Life is but a given chapter;
As we were before
So too shall we be after.
by Garret Woo
6/9/2019
You left in the evening
For the great unknown.
Returned to the earth,
At last, you’ve come home.
In Memoriam Dear Neighbor
by Garret Woo
6/2/2019
Doubt set the tone of my youth;
If it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good.
Searching for worries was never hard,
In fact, it built my fragile heart.
Problems were the standard fare;
A problem here, a problem there.
Any leisure was always rushed
And stuffed inside a scheduled bus.
Doubt has now become expected;
In my heart it lies protected.
by Garret Woo
5/28/2019
Bells ring in the distance, familiar in sound,
Down from the tower since I was a boy.
They no longer mean the same thing to me now,
Though I cannot mistake their daily voice.
It comforts to hear their same drawn out toll
Still filling the air in the late afternoon.
by Garret Woo
5/14/2019
The last time you cried, what was it about?
The loss of a loved one or even self-doubt?
Did you give yourself all the time needed to feel
Every emotion that made the pain real?
If you can say “yes”
Then take what you’ve learned;
Put it up to the test
And keep what you’ve earned.
by Garret Woo
5/5/2019
How far have I fallen from the tree?
Cast to the ground;
At last I am free.
The wind shifts its course,
I fall a bit further
And drift down the street
Across to the corner.
There I take root
And grow with the ages.
I tower the roofs,
Building taller in stages.
I still see the tree
Whose branches I fell from.
They dance in the breeze,
Flowing under the same sun.
by Garret Woo
4/28/2019
Into this world you were conceived;
Fragile and warm, a child to be.
The trials of youth would navigate
The path of life that you’d create.
Out of this world you’ll be relieved,
With body left and spirit free.
by Garret Woo
4/10/2019
Music is a tremendous part of my life. It engages emotions, recalls memories and inspires. I began with a cassette tape of Dookie by Green Day – fast forward to today and I can more easily tell you what music I dislike than what I do.
Above are songs I am currently listening to on Spotify. The aim is to share and convey feelings through music. Hopefully, you might discover something new. Oh, and if you enjoy any of these songs or have any suggestions, please leave something in the comments section below!
The mind is a desert,
Our thoughts are the sand
Moved by the currents
That dance on the land.
They swirl together
As one with the dust;
A tornado of souls
With eyes left untouched.
by Garret Woo
4/8/2019
The Secret Lantern 