Unless you have a dog who takes you for daily walks around the block, you may not be getting outside as often since pandemic pandemonium struck. If that’s the case, here’s a dose of inspiration.

Like the salt in the ocean you can’t see until it’s dry,
you are the rock that keeps us all together;
the command with which you roam this earth makes me afraid,
afraid not of getting in your way but helping you on your own.

Every day I watch the news

They speak and show countless horrors in the world

But who chooses whom we mourn?

See disaster is striking all over

But our attention spans are not too long

This submission earned Amber Por an honorable mention in the Synapse Storytelling Contest creative writing category.

Sunlight beams down

Along the bay,

Streams of glistening speckles

Dance along the water

Hong Kong. A beautiful city, but also one of unrest. I painted this for a friend who recently had an impactful trip there. He soaked in the richness of the culture but also witnessed first-hand the chaos in the riots.

I am a Pawn
I know this
I am surrounded by pawns that act like pawns
I’m always being told I’m a pawn and to go the direction that pawns go
Pawns always have limited places to move

Sometimes being with you feels like being a pearl with a crescent moon. There is a hollow, warm and safe, ready for me to snuggle into. I feel the warmth of your attention and a satisfied feeling from the comfort and ease of our interactions.

Editor's note: This is the final article in Emily Vivian Huang's limited series on the celebrated haute couture designer, Christian Dior.