Berkley Center

Jeremiah Rufus: Did your parents ever talk about religion? Were they religious at all?

May W.: They weren't really religious. I think a period of time they did try going to church, but it was more for the community aspect of it as immigrants in the States rather than for the faith.

Jeremiah Rufus: Okay.

May W.: So I've never been to church before. I don't know what that's like.

Jeremiah Rufus: What would you say your beliefs are?

May W.: I don't know. Honestly, I've never really put too much thought into it. I think for me personally, I don't know if I believe in a higher deity. I think I do believe in karma and what goes around comes around or general destiny/fate. Sometimes if things are meant to be, they're meant to be. But at the same time, I kind of have a limit. I think I believe more in the power of humans and how people shape their own lives rather than another being.

Jeremiah Rufus: That makes a lot of sense.

May W.: Yeah. What about you?

Jeremiah Rufus: So I'm not Baptist. I like to call myself non-denominational Christian, but in terms of how people perceive God or a higher deity and how much influence it has on their life, I don't think there's that much influence in my personal opinion. I'm not saying asking for blessings and prayers is trivial or anything, but I think that God set something in motion and everything is just playing out in terms of that fate/destiny thing, and we do have free will in that regard to see which of our destinies play out. It's just more like, all right, the universe, the ocean, do what you wish. You do you. Whatever happens after is whatever happens after.

May W.: Yeah. Yeah.

Jeremiah Rufus: So when bad things happen, it's not like people go like, "Why God? Why did you let this happen?" It was more like, "You did this to yourself," in my personal opinion. I'm like, "Yeah." I still believe in God and Jesus or whatever. I just believe in a different light than other people do.

May W.: Have you ever written about your spiritual journey, about faith and poetry in your poems?

Jeremiah Rufus: That's a great question. I have a haiku.

May W.: Ooh.

Jeremiah Rufus: It's called Divine Presence.

May W.: Do you want to read it?

Jeremiah Rufus: Yes. It's like five seven five, the lines.

May W.: Yeah.

Jeremiah Rufus:

I'm never alone

as my creator is here

and with me always.

May W.: Oh, I like that.

Jeremiah Rufus: Yeah. I don't know what came over me. I was super alone. That's what I think religion is nice in that regard because you're just like, "Oh, well, I can't be alone if my creator is with me." Yeah.