Thank you for
The great time
I had
Now it is time
To say farewell
Or
Sg secure training
Let's build that dream
That we can be "secure"
Let's definen"secure" shall we
It's a feeling of being safe
Where can we feel safe?
At home
Our on the street
On social media
We fear saying the wrong thing
What we say could get us arrested
A window onto a window
A woman, her hair bunned up high
Sips tea in her blue sleeveless dress
The pink flowers on her dress blooming next to her garden plants
She steps back and is gone behind the cream pleated curtain
Window now reflects only the window again
A man now appears his dhoti ruffled white
He glances down to study his plants
Maybe missing the one that just went inside
He melts behind the pleaded curtain too
Wander in nature hear the sounds
Look out of the window
Write about a historical event or person or place
Email header poem
In all this chaos is there space for stillness and beauty ?
2 I missed earlier on and will not be likely writing
So for a few hours.. I had fun
Different from what I've had in awhile
Like re discovering yourself a little
And just for a little while
I was a girl again a woman
Not a wife not a mum
Just a girl being a poet 😀
I could do this again maybe
And
After like ages
I feel I have new friends
That s nice too
And
I like having this other side to me
That people at work may not know
That even my close friends do not know
Yeah. I like that too.
I looked up at the sky and saw
The golden shining moon
It was eating berry yogurt
With a rainbow spoon
I saw the blazing burning Sun
It was having so much fun
Eating a chocolate currant bun
Google translate does amazing faithless translations! Just try typing in Tamil to see.
Prose poem
Darting spurts of neon delight in pursuit of the elusive shell ahead. Who will make the catch tonight? Shades of blue will make shady boys. Hues in pink will result in twirly girls. And the yellows and greens will make great inbetweens.
Pinpricks of colour in the distance fade. Has a catch been made - only this question remains. In nine months time all shall know. Was it the blue the pink or the bright yellow?
Big splash
The slides in yellow blue and green
You were there way before
Wet wet wild and now places at sentosa
These new ones are nice but theybcamt match the gloss of memory of big splash
After all I will never be 10 again in a blue and white striped swim suit eager and excited to go there my anticipation tripling when I catch my first glimpse of the triple coloured slides towering ahead
The rush of excitement the gorging on kfcfinger licking good waiting for the good forever and believing your father as He says the food takes time coz they have to catch the chicken first
Nothing can match the gloss of that memory .
Big splash
You great towering icon you
In roaring yellow ultramarine blue and vicious red (Vicious because you once tore the pants of my one piece at age 10.)
You roared your own then. No fancy WWW to steal your thunder. Sentosa was just an island with a wax museum. You? on the hand ... at the coast with colour pouring from above
Maybe you became worn out
Maybe those colours faded in the glaring Sun
But... Nothing comes close to the gloss of memory ... when i was 10 wearing a black and white striped swimsuit... you were my Sunday treat of the month! The drive there seemed so long until I caught the crest of your colours and then I'd be hopping to get out .
And then... after you there was God old colonel waiting for us with crispy chicken that was finger lickin good.
Your fall was inevitable I guess.
In singapore you learn not to get attached to places
To store memories in the mind and not in stone and bricks
Teaches you to be zen this place. No attachments . Just memories.
Goodness.
Just realised yesterday that I earn 8500 and I spend 8500! Clean! Of that 8500 about 3800 goes into forced savings and kids accounts. But still!
And my household exp see is 6k! See is is about 4! Hmph.
But it's okay. He pays for our holidays and stuff. So we are on par kootikalichupaartha
Next steps
1. Find out exactly how much we are spending on various insurance and investment policies
2. Plan to settle home loan as much as we can
3. Then invest liquid cash rather than let It lie in the bank
Once a week at Sinda class
You and I would meet
Timing our trips to the water cooler
To sip and whisper nothings
You would say something clever
Minutes, hours, and years later
I'd be rehearsing what I should have said instead of standing goldfish mouth agape
You slipped me a note one sweet Tuesday
Wanna go steady? You scrawled.
I nodded, my two plaits bobbing in time
I floated home that day
I lay on my pillow, smiling into air
Rehashing the note and nod all night
When I woke I wanted to shout out loud
I'm not who I was yesterday morning now!
And we went steady
We courted for two years
just smiling at each other at the water cooler
The occasional walk home together
Palms near but never touching
The other's words echoing in our ears all the way home
The little gifts at Valentine's day
A tune up piano
I still cherish today
At 17, I met another
Daring and bold
I wanted to hold his hands
But first... I had to break the fragile bind that held us still
That Valentine's day, our annual date
We exchanged gifts
You pronounced your unending love in a card
I gave you a "this isn't working" letter
A note to start and a note to end it all end it all
My chaste first crush
I see you now with your two kids
As I tow my two along
Life has surely moved on
Our romance as fleeting and pleasing
As a rainbow in a cloudy sky
So sweet because it lasts only so long
You will ever be my gentle first crush, So long.
You and I would meet
Once a week at sinda class
Timing our trips to the water cooler
You would say something
Minutes, hours, years later
I'd be rehearsing what comeback I should have given instead of standing there all goldfish mouth agape
You slipped me a note
Wanna go steady?
I nodded,
my two plaits bobbing in time
And I floated home that day
Rehashing the note and the nod all night
Manic smile plastered on my face
And we went steady
We courted for two years just smiling at each other at the water cooler
The occasional walk home together
Palms near but never touching
Our words echoing in our ears all the way home
The little gifts at Valentine's day
A tune up piano I still cherish today
Then
At age 17
I met another
Daring bold
I wanted to hold his hands
But I had to break off our chaste steadiness first
We met
Valentine's day
We exchanged gifts and went home to open it
You gave me your unending love in a card
I gave you a let's break up letter
A note to start and a note to end it all end it all
My sweet chaste first crush
You have three kids now and so do I
Life moved on
But you will ever be my first sweet crush
Our romance as fleeting and as pleasing
As a rainbow in the sky
Ninja warrior I am
Limbs akimbo I wait
When i leap i defy gravity
You won't know what hit you
Forlorn lover I am
At this window I wait
You left at dawn for grub
Have the brahiminy kites got you?
Resentful jailbird I am
Stuck behind bars I wait
Plotting my sweet revenge
Tomorrow tomorrow I will find you
Terrified chameleon I am
Like wire on wire I wait
If i don't twitch my toe or tail
Maybe that mynah won't get me
Dear editor
Incarcerate him.
Institutionalise him.
Demonise him.
Banish him.
But never
Ignore him.
Use a boulder to swat a fly
That's the way we do it here.
I stand here ready to be offended
I swing my axe wildly
I dare you to criticise me
I dare you
I dare you to caricature me
I dare you
To be from the east is
To enjoy burgers and fries, pasta and pizza, paella and tapas and also to own smugly the careless familiarity with chicken rice and fishball noodles, dosai and idly, kueh lapis and nasi lemak
To be from the east is
To know the uber rich in palatial bungalows, the everyday man
in hdb flats and the slum dirt poor
begging in the streets of India
To be from the east is
To bask in the camaraderie of minorities, to rock jeans and tees and also look chic in cheongsams and sarees, and to be hooked onto Hollywood and Bollywood, and Kollywood and Korean drama
To be from the east is
To have words and thoughts bubble in more than one tongue, to smirk as people praise your English because they expect it to be broken, and to know customs and cultures that enrich your very blood
And
To be from the east is
To watch the tides of time turn slowly and surely
to raise us
to tower over and
Devour
The west.
To be from the east is
To enjoy burgers and fries,
pasta and pizza,
paella and tapas
And also to own smugly the careless familiarity with
chicken rice and fishball noodles,
dosai and idly,
kueh lapis and nasi lemak
To be from the east is
To know the uber rich
in palatial bungalows,
the everyday man
in hdb flats and
the slum dirt poor
begging in the streets of India
To be from the east is
To bask in the camaraderie of minorities
To rock jeans and tees and also look chic in cheongsams and sarees
To be hooked onto Hollywood and Bollywood, and Kollywood and Korean drama
To be from the east is
To have words and thoughts bubble in more than one tongue
To smirk as people praise your English (they expect it to be broken)
To know customs and cultures that enrich your very blood
And
To be from the east is
To watch the tides of time turn
Slowly and surely
To raise us
to tower over and
Devour
The west.
Floating markets
---------
We wedge our narrow craft
Into crevices
between floating rainbows
Sundrenched lemons
Booming bananas
Sunset mangoes
We haul home
Treasures that turn
sickly sweet
Blushing jambus
Defiant rambutans
Haughty mangosteens
in the heat
untouched
As we wait
Guavas ridged with envy
Defensive durians
Pungent pregnant jackfruit
For the right
Time
To eat them
To be from the east is
To enjoy burgers and fries, pasta and pizza, paella and tapas
And also to own smugly the familiarity with
chicken rice and fishball noodles, dosai and idly, kueh lapis and nasi lemak
To be from the east is
To know the uber rich in palatial bungalows, the everyday man in hdb flats and the slum dirt poor begging in the streets of India
To be from.the east is to travel far and white
To bask in the camaraderie of minorities ...
To smirk as people praise your English because they expect it to be broken
To rock jeans and tees and also look chic in cheongsams and sarees
To have words and thoughts bubble in more than one language
To know customs and cultures that enrich your very blood
And
To watch the tides of time turn
To raise the east to tower over and
Devour
The west.
Floating markets
---------
Rowing along
A river of colour
Ripe fruit beckon
We wedge our narrow craft
Into crevices
between floating rainbows
Sunkissed lemons
Booming bananas
Mangoes in shades of sunset
Blushing jambus
Defiant rambutans
Haughty mangosteens
Guavas ridged with envy
Defensive durians
Pungent pregnant jackfruit
Our narrow vessel
Tips
With colours
We haul home
Treasures that turn
sickly sweet
in the heat
untouched
As we wait
For the right
Time
To eat them
Pale pink jambus
Wiry red rambutans
Deep purple mangosteens
Pale pink jambus
Wiry red rambutans
Deep purple mangosteens
Golden yellow bananas
Sunset orange mangoes
Plump sunny lemons
Cheery yellow bananas
Sunset orange mangoes
Plump sunny lemons
Just a little bite
Feel the
Brittle earthy nuts
Give way to
A glossy smooth shell
Bite a little more
Feel the
Molten lava slide
Down like silk
unravelled
Bite a little harder
Connect with the hard
Firm
Round
Nut
The symphony you feel
You know
You have struck gold.
E.g.
I often scribble in the sand
The words I find so hard to say
And hope the wind will come along
And blow them all your way.
why is outer space so cold
A spurned lover talks to her friend...
Why don't the Sun's Rays light up outer space
And why doesn't its heat keep the cosmos toasted?
Without land or gases to reflect the blaze
Even the sun is rendered powerless and defeated .
Why didnt my love for him
keep him here beside
His heart was a hole black rimmed
Neither able to reflect not absorb your love so let him be
You could not touch him
Keep you alight with hope
I received this love with such disdain
You could not touch me with a 10foot pole.
The absence of gases foul smelling and clean
Well With no gases to contain the heat and no land to reflect the light even the sun is powerless
Why because there are no gases
Without gases to enfold
Why don't the sun's rays light up outer space
And why doesn't its heat keep the cosmos toasted?
Without land or gases to reflect the blaze
Even the sun is rendered powerless and defeated .
Why didnt my love for him touch his soul
Why was it not enough to mark his destiny?
His heart was just a deep black hole
Unable to reflect nor absorb ... Just leave him be
Every time I cross the road
I wonder... Will this be the day
I get knocked down.
Flattened onto the ground
The painter's deft stroke -
Abstract art on tar
Will the prata man dragging on his nicotine tar
Be forever marred by this road -
His regular customer felled in one stroke...
He may buy lottery that day
Win some cash that shakes his ground
Or perhaps he may just cry sitting down
I ponder how i might one day go down
In history - will my name be tarred
By some indiscretion underground
Or will i be known for making inroads
In my passion that changes the day -
dreams of young minds in one masterful stroke
l lie looking at the stars when , at the stroke
of midnight i feel a jolt run down
my spine . I think this day
might be the day something will happen to tar
this image I've been safeguarding on this road...
How will I go to ground?
First I want to take you to the playground
And then give you a bath- i want to stroke
Your cheeks before i take to this road
To kiss your eyes before I put you down
So nothing will mar or tar
This picture of you this day
And then I will say good day
My time has come to lie in the ground
Which I know will also , one day , be overlaid with tar
And I hope I will be remembered for the stroke
of genius I had within me deep down
Before I ended my road
Tar stroke down road ground day
I have seen my life built up stroke by stroke
Knowing life is built up stroke by stroke
I have lived hopeful, even when I am down
For one day I will surely end this road
Knowing life is built up stroke by stroke
I have lived hopeful, even when I am down
For one day I will surely end this road.
What month were you born in the Muslim calendar? Write a poem based on the literal meaning of this month. (e.g. Muharram=forbidden) https://www.islamicfinder.org/islamic-date-converter/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calendar#Months
What day of the week were you born? Incorporate the corresponding element, based on the Japanese calendar. (e.g. Tuesday=fire) https://www.timeanddate.com/date/weekday.html http://www.cjvlang.com/Dow/dowjpn.html
I was born in the month of Ramadan
Holy month.
Ramad means near the Sun
Ramadan is namednsuch because
This month burns away the sins of man
The good deed done in this month
Multiply and multiply
And burn away our sins
The month that burn the sins away
-one whose sins are burnt by the sun.
DAY 7 art gallery
DAY 8 pantun
DAY 9 kural done
Day 10 Malay name translations
DAY 11 stars
DAY 12 syllabic poems
It is good to never forget those who helped you
It is better to forget the help you give immediately
Don't forget those who help you
Forget your help given at once
Life is like chocolate
Just savour it
Poetry is a knife
That slices hearts
Fish that follow fish
They sometimes die
Fish that follow fish
They sometimes survive
So just do things
Your own way
You may still die
But I bet
you'd survive!
Don't be like fish
Don't just follow
Set out your way
You may survive
A little person with two small pigtails
Is running in front of me
Running as fast as her little legs can take her
I watch her run run run...
Two little legs spinning
The wheels of time turning
Running into pre-school then primary school
to her pre teens then her teens
Then her twenties and her thirties...
She's running after her own kids
You are enough
You may not save water at times
You may waste electricity
You may not use uber and grab
and you pay more for comfort cabs
But you are enough
You may not make the best sambar
Your chappathis are hardly round
You may only make rice and pasta
And you let the kids eat koka
But you are enough
You don't always know left from right
You may not open your mail for years
You don't know which pooja is when
You forget your keys now and then
But you are enough
You run in the rain and laugh out loud
You play with the kids like you're one too
You bake and read and paint with them
You really sit down and talk with them
You are enough
You teach them to cycle and swim
You let them teach you to live and love
They look for you to hug and hold
They just want you if truth be told
You are enough.
You are enough.
You let ideas flow
You cook and paint with them
You write
You read and read and read
You hug the kids and talk to them and teach them to cycle
You used to bite your nails but are trying to stop
You may run in the rain and let the kids run too without caring about them catching a cold
You may let them eat tom yam instant noodles from time to time, and read till the wee hours of the night
You may wash their hair and not let it dry
Sometimes you tell at the kids and hit them too
But you are enough
You play with the kids
You let ideas flow
You cook and paint with them
You write
You read and read and read
You hug the kids and talk to them and teach them to cycle
You used to bite your nails but are trying to stop
form is as follows, where each numeral indicates the stanza position and the letters represent end-words:
1. ABCDEF
2. FAEBDC
3. CFDABE
4. ECBFAD
5. DEACFB
6. BDFECA
7. (envoi) ECA or ACE
The envoi, sometimes known as the tornada, must also include the remaining three end-words, BDF, in the course of the three lines so that all six recurring words appear in the final three lines. In place of a rhyme scheme, the sestina relies on end-word repetition to effect a sort of rhyme.
Repeated words
Road, tar, ground, day, stroke, down
Can play around with tar
Tar my image
New tar overlay
Tar in nicotine
A. Every time I cross the road
B. I wonder... Will this be the day
C. I get knocked down.
D. Flattened onto the ground
E. The painter's deft stroke -
F. Abstract art on tar
F. Would the prata man drag on his nicotine tar
A. forever marred by this road -
E. His regular customer felled in one stroke...
B. He may buy lottery that day
D. Win some cash that shakes his ground
C. Or perhaps he may just cry sitting down
C. I ponder how i might one day go down
F. in history books - will my name be tarred
D. Or would i be featured In some ground-
A. breaking discovery down the road
B. One that changes the day -
E. dreams of young minds in one fell stroke
E. l lie looking at the stars when , at the stroke
C. of midnight i feel a jolt run down
B. my spine . I think this day
F. might be the day something will happen to tar
A. this image I've been safeguarding on this road...
D. How will I go to ground?
D. First I want to take you to the playground
E. And then give you a bath- i want to stroke
A. Your cheeks before i take to this road
C. To kiss your eyes before I put you down
F. So nothing will mar or tar
B. This picture of you this day
B. And then I will say good day
D. My time has come to lie in the ground
F. Which I know will also , one day , be overlaid with tar
E. And I hope I will be remembered for the stroke
C. of genius I had within me deep down
A. Before I ended my road
A. I have lived my road
C. Hopeful even when I was down
E. Knowing life is built up stroke by stroke
Knowing life is built up stroke by stroke
I have lived hopeful, even when I am down
For one day I will surely end this road.
An elderly lady tried climbing the escalator stairs and fell back.
An everyday hero caught her. Protected her from falling back by absorbing her full weight onto his fingers and legs.
She was dazed. Shocked. But safe.
Walked off and found another old lady to tell her tale.
The hero... massaged his fingers and his leg. Winced. Limped off. No thanks for him and he didn't look for it.
What did he stop?
Not just one old lady falling back. But a whole domino of people falling back if not for his strong leg and fingers.
And none saw it but one.
I'm scared schools are stamping out students individuality. Forcing them to conform to a particular way of speaking writing thinking.
Every time I cross a road
I wonder
Will I be knocked down
Pressed flat into the ground
abstract art on tar
Then I wonder
Will the roti prata man
Whose shop I step out of
Be forever scarred by my fall
Then I wonder
How will I leave this world one day
Here one minute gone the next
Or drag out that last interminable breath
Watch it ebb and flow no more
Rise and join the sublime air
Shed this worn and weary skin
Float free - view life with dispassion.
I wonder
The forests are lovely dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And Miles to go before I sleep
Things I wish I could say yes to
Can I bounce on clouds?
Yes
Can I touch the moon
Yes
Can I taste the wind
Can I see God
Can I live forever
Can I check out heaven
Can I grow up straight away and never grow up too
Yes
Indeed it is. For it is when i get so addicted to the phone. I post the most this month. A oost a day. And it exhausting. And then I hungrily check my posts for like comments suggestions. Very pointless and yet I do it. Hard to focus on anything!!
The words perch
Teetering
at the edge of the tongue
Testing
the wind, tiny wings
Fluttering
Like an eye lash against dust
Out in space you cannot say no
Not to the millions of twinkling dust
Smaller than the smallest speck of dust
We can't say yes or no to things above us
We just sway
First the text.
I would like to focus on poetry.
I will pick a collection of poetry based on a theme that I think my girls would enjoy.
School and imagery animals
Say no to drugs sex and alcohol
Say no to dowry
Say no to women feeling unsafe at night
All the things I want to say no to...
To know to love to dance
A dollop of hugs
A pinch of chubby cheeks
Drizzle some kisses
A re
How to make a baby
1. Make love. Have sex.
2. Have more sex
3. Have planned timed sex. Day 10 day 12 day 14 day 16 day 18
4. Visit doctors
5. Hear scary reports
6. Calm down
7. Pick up spirits
7. Have planned timed sex again. Day 9 day 11 day 13 day 15 day 17.
8. Elevate legs to let gravity help lethargic swimmers along
9. Stay with legs up in the air for 10 min after sex. Try not to feel idiotic.
10. Visit doctors again.
11. Pop pills. Grow strong eggs.
12. Cry and hug as necessary.
15. Brew Chinese herbs
16. Drink Indian herbs
17. Pray ... at home at temples at churches at temples
18. Rage against god.
19. Cry and try again
19. Visit Doctors again.
20. Plan
21. Vegan births without sex
21. Iui then ivf then adoption
22. Start.
23. Wait
24. Cry.
25. Start again
26. Wait.
27. Cry.
28. Start again.
28. Wait.
29. Wait...
30. Wait...
