PO.ET.CETERA

"TEHRAN MARKET" - sightseeing in Iran

2008-09-28T02:27:00.000-07:00

Scents scatter in mosaic square
Bright colours overflow the stands
Carrots elbow aubergines
Rotkohl rest on riotous herbs
Apples vie with golden pears
Grapes accost cucumbers
Rows of fish glisten coolly
Fat red carcasses hang majestically
Olives in glass jars jostle to stare
At baskets heaped with fruit and nut
Flatbreads made in flour dusted shops
Iced pomegranate and baked beetroot
Beckon from tiny streetside stalls
Free spirits pierce their dark garb

Warm smiles light up guarded looks

Open hearts overrule covered heads

To tell the story of Tehran.

1107

"BROTHER" - about dying, and having lived fully

2008-01-24T09:20:00.000-08:00

Still you lie
With enigmatic smile
A whisper away
A universe apart
Your family bereaved
Inconsolable

Generous heart
Made a mark
Playful prince
Missed by friends
Husband, father
Cheated by time
Favourite son
Who blames a mother?

Brother
I never got to know
Till late in the day
Night came too soon
But rest well
And God bless
My brother

0507

"IMMORTALITY" - what it means to die on the right side of history

2007-10-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

Farewell trusted lieutenant
Like the others you surrender
‘Gainst the grim reaping contingent
There’s no earthly rejoinder.

No shrine to your successes
No praise from men of reputation
Will count as nation assesses
If you’re worthy of exaltation.

Weapons to persuade the masses
Beacons to enlighten history
Use them on the confused classes
How to win them is no mystery.

No right of reply when dead
No law after life on defamation
But fear not, trusted comrade
We secure your immortalisation.
0706

"THE TREE" - the day the tree-huggers lost the battle

2007-10-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

You were there
living signal to speeding driver
that city and nature have space for each other

You were left
pointing fingers at rush hour artery
that had razed your lush sanctuary

You were made
charming oddity for all to see
standing between lane two and three

You were damned
sentenced by intolerance
dismissed as inconvenience

You are dying
in silent pain as they saw
away with the might of the law

You are vanquished
lofty intentions bid lowly retreat
green slogans paved over with concrete

0907

"SAILING" - with the wind to another world

2007-10-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

Gentle nudges on uncertain bow
reluctance rules for still second
boat budges sails luff lazily
telltales desultory

Now in the open sea
waves bombard
starboard bow with stories
of arduous journeys from distant dangers
winds regale
surging sails with songs
of sleepy isles and busy harbours

Their rhymes and rhythms
bear the boat
on angels’ wings
flying on the breath of God

0307

"SUCCESS" - when the daily grind and money chase lose their shine

2006-11-03T09:18:00.000-08:00

You slave like a bondmaid
To what end
You chase your own tail
Like a fiend.

If your yardstick’s money
For whose use
If your end game’s fame
Watch the noose.

0706

"GERMANY 2006" - crazy about soccer but thrills and spills still end in nil

2006-09-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Bloodsweat on straining muscles
In jerseys bold and bright
Lusty cheers to flame the tussles
On fields marked out in white.

The golden gods of soccer whistle
Every sporting soul is caught
Bewitched by a month long battle
Over each ball fiercely fought.

The nations show off skill and spirit
The crowds shout their fervour
Hats off to the players of grit
Cheers to dives of valour.

Angry jeers at every pickle
Tears over shock defeat
Bets on Spain, Brazil, Portugal
All off in the summer heat.

The precious sleep we sacrifice
As idols conquer or fall
Our dazed heads and glazed eyes
Offerings to the gilded ball.

Now ends the drama and action
Our routine’s back on track
But from the season of passion
Life’s lessons in a pack.

0706

"AWAKENING" - funny how politics entertain us but twice a decade

2006-08-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

The underdogs had wasted no time
Five years sniffing out territory
Preparing for their rocky climb
Up the everest of political reality
Towards that foolish elusive ideal
Of stoking some democratic tradition
And growing from seed its appeal
Among the dozing docile nation.

Battered, belittled, still unscarred
The pack endured, more than cheered
By signs of welcome no-holds-barred.
Thirty thousand, not one as feared
Braved the mud and lightning storm
Shoulder to shoulder on tilted field
The underdogs surpassed their form
In the crowd they needed no shield.

Awakened from slumber the puppies
Opened eyes to a braver new world
From mere me-and-mine yuppies
Voices curbed and ideals furled
To excited electorate careless of cost
Ready to paint by numbers their desire.
Half the battle's won the other lost
Half a decade to fan the next fire.

Epilogue
Circus over, the players scatter
A meagre mixed trio left on stage
Strive in hope that they can matter
And somehow the doubts assuage.
But the underdogs soon despair
The great white troops rest assured
Their foes' campaign in disrepair
All chances of victory obscured.

0606

"HANOI" - charming city with shades of old Vietnam

2006-08-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

Throw-back city with long shopping streets
Ugly buildings amidst colonial charm
Two million motorbikes constantly hounded
By the habitual honking of passing cars
Pockets of green parks
Activity filled lakes
Tranquil temples
The old museum
Scattered with proletariat art
And frayed silk paintings

Chatting workers on low stools
Hurry through their roadside lunch
Swanky tourists on high chairs
Delight in Viet-French fare

My impressions have faded
But clear is the sound
Of a hundred old ladies
chanting the Hail Mary
in their own dialect
filling the cavernous blue
of St Joseph’s cathedral
drowning out the motorbikes
the sounds of Hanoi
Their city to remember

1105

"REGRETS" - ever panicked at the thought of being too old to start something new?

2006-08-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

Lonely
stranded with thoughts
of a life wasted
so many
false starts
dead ends
mindless retakes
ceaseless circles
there is no road ahead
each time hope glimmers
the tunnel is too dark
courage forsakes
desire wavers
time chimes
away in despair

"FOUR WALLS" - growing old with Singapore's first HDB satellite town

2005-12-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

These four walls
have seen me grow
from toddler to adult.
This concrete cubicle
with others identical
give shelter
to family
upon family
stacked up
in matrices
ten by ten
a hundred of them
side by side.

Twenty years
have left marks
that coats of paint
could never hide.
Yet life writes on
the same old
down to earth script
on yellowed paper
as we shuttle daily
in and out
our little homes
acting out
our little lives
like bees
in concrete hives.

So interwoven
yet independent
our lives unfold
our little stories
get retold
from door to door
laughter bounces
from pillar to pillar
anger echoes
from floor to floor
and sorrow seeps
through hollow walls
as children grow
and parents
become old.

0388

"RIVER" - oblivious as it swept through a sleepy city down under

2005-12-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

The river plodded along with me
like a condescending old queen
I threw at her mental stones
hating her so calm and serene

Something screamed in me
and struggled to be free
that wild conflict that cried
searched and clawed inside

The river swept on unperturbed
ignored my mad disquiet
flowed on by me undisturbed
and mocked my mental riot

0984

"IF WALLS COULD TALK" - a belated wish to have loved someone more

2005-12-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

If walls could talk
would they tell of years
of loneliness unrelieved
but by the sounds of children
who visit now and then
and as they grow into adulthood
strayed far from the home
of one who truly loved them

Would these walls speak
of the struggles of one
who survived on today's bread
and lived on tomorrow's hopes
of a better world than this

Would they know her dreams
her lonely frustrations
untold aspirations
never shared
with those whom she loved

Would these walls recall
the sadness that weighed
upon her weak shoulders
while waiting for
people she loved
people who never came

If walls could talk
would they tell of the shame
of these heartless souls
who sent her away

1183

"LONELY PEOPLE" - step out of your shell (you'll regret it less)

2005-12-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

Lonely people like looking
out from windows to see
others bustling by
to stare at their world
from inside
too scared
to share it
outside

0983

"SKINNY OLD MAN" - the foolish observations of the very young

2005-12-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

Skinny old man curling round the bus-stop seat
basking in the sun
his green cotton tee shirt and long khaki shorts
that soiled crumpled look
thumbing its nose at fashion

Paddling off on his bare feet
thin legs lifting awkwardly with each uneven step
his bald head tilting
glancing with childlike interest all around him
a fascinating world

He wasn't old after all
seemed so at first sight
He's young though
and younger inside

983

"WHITE FLOWERS" - soothed by an encounter with nature

2005-12-16T09:17:00.000-08:00

White flowers crystallised on green
branches gracefully arched over
that wallowing sorry drain near
a rubbish heap that weaves
stale despondency into the air
Round the corner the construction site
in mindless arrogance puffs out smoke
and dust that choke the air
But somehow your sweet frangrance
hovers in mid air like a spell
so one who ventures near enough
may sense above the smoke and stench
the soothing perfume of your scent
gentle persuasion
amidst wilful destruction

0382