
you are my moon
a poetry collection of
cherry rao


there are many planets
and some planets
have many moons.
but the earth
spends all its nights
on just one moon.
you are my moon,
the moon,
and the only moon.
67 moons of jupiter
sometimes i wish i could
remember more.
i wish that there were ways
to trace
at what time, and
on which day
that one kiss,
one hug,
and one touch happened.
as the stars flicker through time,
you give me my moments.
you are
my sweet, my fate, my one
in a million.
you give me my moments

fake silver
we are fake silver turned gold. i must have
hoped for it
real hard, i must have
prayed a lot, too, like
an alchemist of the curious kind.
who knows, i only remember having cried
myself to sleep. i thought it was a pardoned
(or abandoned?) dream,
a quick-fixed moon of honey.
i put it on my left hand's ring finger, i heard
that it means i don't want
no other, it is less of
a heavy promise, and more of
a gesture that speaks my heart. i will
live with it, i will,
pardon me, if i must die with it, i will
marry you like that, in
a plain white dress, sandals and loose hair.
(oh pardon me again.)
you have no idea, or maybe you do.
i wooed you first, (was it really me?)
you wooed me then, (you did it, or did i do it
again? no way.) but it doesn't matter
as we are both in it now, all of a sudden,
the sweetest, the strongest,
like nothing was ever broken.
out of nowhere and everywhere,
it happened and it happens that
sometimes fake silver
means golden.
poetry review
Olivia Gatwood:
New American Best Friend
a poetry review i wrote on Olivia Gatwood's New American Best Friend is published by HK01.
read the full review here:
https://www.hk01.com/article/114473

art review
Milo Tse: The Skin I Live In
an art review i wrote on Milo Tse's project: The Skin I Live In was published by HK01. read the full review here.


you are my moon
imageries of in-betweens
hi. my name is cherry rao, a hong-kong-born-indian-chinese,
a writer, an editor, a translator, a poetess, a storyteller, a wordsmith, an aquarius, a rabbit, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover, an art enthusiast, a hopeless romantic, a human being, a soul, a wanderer,
a clumsy dreamer, a moment collector, a believer in all things good and beautiful, and a speck of dust in the universe.
born in 1987, i graduated from the university of hong kong with a bachelor of arts degree, double majoring in fine arts and english studies. for nearly a decade, i have worked in the field of art, jewelry and education as a writer, editor and communications specialist. i have written hundreds of speeches, stories and interviews for a creative genius.
published in the summer of 2017, this book is composed of 30 poems i wrote in my 20s — simple words, delicate (and at times ridiculous) thoughts.
for the first 50 copies, anyone who donated HK$150/US$20/20 Euros to any charity of their own choice could get a book by showing me the donation receipt. the project resulted at around HK$7,000 donation to a number of charities, including WWF, World Vision, UNHCR, heforshe, Hong Kong Dog Rescue, paws guardian, BC Cancer Agency and SOS Børnebyerne.
behind every poem there is a story. i explore “the less obvious” through poetry and enjoy juxtaposing elements from different languages and cultures to construct imagery of in-betweens. wordplays, fairy-tales, myths and symbolism intrigue me.
i reside in copenhagen, denmark, with my husband.