They’re like fallen leaves Wrinkled and brittle Ironed out By the weight of the past. Do be careful When you turn the pages Of my life That now longs to be rewritten. Lifeless Is this windless night The weary souls Struggling against the web Of city life Are now cocooned in bed Their dreams unread […]
A prized pearl it must be That casts a silky radiance Flattered by the morning sun. Housed and chained in gold But in this ritual for fitness, It was flung around the neck To dangle behind a sweaty back Like a mistress; Unseen by those who greet, Envied by those who follow. His meeting with […]
We all have our weaknesses. While we may have the courage to stand up to bullies, we may do the most humiliating things for the people we love. This is when a line from a poem by Lu Xun 鲁迅, the father of modern Chinese literature, is often quoted. 横眉冷对千夫指，俯首甘为孺子牛。This line comes from a not […]
At Suntec City on a sunny day Anime figures came out to play Dressed in costumes glorious and gay They brightened the day in every way. But just next door to all the fun, Sunday school was being run. Out came Auntie pure as snow Into a realm of fantasies so bold. Wobbling breasts and […]
The occasional car or bus Rushes by But mine is the only heart beating On this lonely stretch Towards Punggol Beach. Out of the forest The sky spreads out Like a blank sheet To rewrite a blemished life story. The sun is just rising And the sea pulls out A distorted imitation. Longer and more […]
I run past A dog on a leash Pursuing a scent Unseen by its pretty owner Wagging its tail In mock obedience The pretty owner runs along Her ponytail bouncing in the evening breeze As she is led by the leash. I run past A construction site I hear a shower of pebbles The purring […]
Fallen leaves, empty bottles, broken twigs Float on a greasy surface The river has endured the runoff From dusty tracks and muddy forest Yes, the storm has passed Leaving tiny ripples and heavy mist Then evening draws a glowing mauve curtain As sunlight melts into a darker blend Stirring within the sunset lovers. © Chan […]
Time flies Charming old buildings left for dead No longer telling stories In moving images Powerful sounds Idling in a world that demands purpose. But Time finally swings A weighty pendulum On the old cinema. As the metal ball strikes The walls respond With a deep roar, A futile protest As the building bleeds sand […]
Teacher, teacher Maths is tough Numbers alone are not enough. Wordy questions twist my mind Leaving my parents in a bind. Maths was simpler in his day But Dad is stumped in every way When I show him my problem sum His eyes would roll and his his heart would jump. So tutor, tutor comes […]
Rhyming poetry is a little like black and white photography. It is not in fashion but make no mistake, it’s not easy. A clueless “expert” once said that rhyming poetry is low class. I asked him if he considered Shakespeare’s sonnets low class. Rhyming poetry requires the poet to have a good sense of rhyme […]