eating alone
I scribble a few verse lines
on a napkin . . .
a long sigh emerges
from the waitress's pale lips

once again
the silence of a blank page
fills me with dread --
a lone star blinking
on the last night of spring

late into the night
unable to sleep again
I wander
the corridors of memory
unable to find EXIT

Chen-ou Liu is the author of Ripples from a Splash: A Collection of Haiku Essays with Award-Winning Haiku and Following the Moon to the Maple Land.