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MY POEMS SECTION TWO
MY GOD
My God is no chauvinist, no racist
neither chooses any people
nor restricted himself to any.
My God needs no messenger nor prophet to
get himself across to me.
He welcomes all into his scheme of things
with open arms each day without fail
with his sweet and comforting rays.
He sends the winds and rains each season
for the crops to grow and the world to thrive.
He wakens up the man in me when the time
comes and luxuriates me with a wide
spectrum of emotions to enable me feel his magic.
He makes me feel he is there, just near me
and reveals succinctly that chance could not
have led to all these complex uniformity.
He guides me through life in his own mystical
ways setting my curiosity aflammed as
to the meanings of all that go on around me.
The real God makes me hunger to know more of him!
Poem Title: I AM ALL THE MOVIE HEROES AND HERONES (3)
i was a country boy
theatre was my life
and the country lanes my stage
the obliging country folks my audience.
day in day out i am all action in the lanes
bursting out with lines from the movies,
walking in the styles of tarzan,
Chinese swordsfighters, ballet stars,
james bond, snow white, the seven dwarfs, mickey mouse, donald duck, bruce lee, and even dainty Chinese heroines.
times and again, after school, our neighbourhood would be abuzz with our
swordsfighting contest;
our teams fought with hands karate-styled
and those striken at apart from the hands
and arms were considered losers.
brothers all joined in this fun
which became the climax of our country days.
schools were boring.
our parents must be very glad that
we did not have spider men then
or else they would have to talk us into
not jumping from buildings.
and songs were my prime interest. not elvis
or even cliff richard who were one generation away from me but those chinese
singers with their quivering voices - male and female included.
the country fields and shops were all my songs in contralto, tenor and suprano
cheering up friends of all ages,
some imbibing me the ideas of becoming
a star fueling a crazy dream that has
gone spiralling in my mind ever since.
sisters who could not put up with
my hyper activities told me quite tactly
they were not interested in my hobbies.
so i turned to my country friends who
were all praises for my copycat talents.
and now in my forties, i have to admit
of the dizzy effects all these dreams
have brought me.
the childhood characters and dreams continue
living on in me, albeit in silence
but often coming out with equal intensity and joy in poems..
how glad i am of this writing venture
as i could keep those dreams and characters alive....Oh, this country joy
brother just burnt
the letters,
a bundle with the
recognisable characters
of puppy love -
our neighbour's
shoulder-length teenage
daughter people known
for her intelligence,
good grades in class
and beauty.
their resounding
laughter and tears
burst in the yellow flame
as it tears through
the envelopes and
papers with such
a coldness of purpose
my heart too has grown cold
as i witness this stoic
ending to a relationship
gone awry.
i turn away praying
that brother would
let the bygone
trail with the smoke
but the light
to guide him
to another world
where there is again
fun, laughter and
letters to share
the thoughts, aspirations
and love of youth.
Poem Title: POETRY FARM (6)
Poetry,
the fruits of my mind
which i pluck and
place on paper
to refresh your mind and soul
they ripen in the mind
and become nagging thoughts
that push at me each day
to get them off the mental farm
onto the multifarious world where
they could travel
and befriend intelligences
from all all over and if fortunate
germinate in other mental farms
to come out with hybrids
that could enrich this world
with more lively words, rhymes
and cheerful people.......
IMAGES
the only trip years back
sitting next to late granny
for a cartoon movie
the splashing in the
basin, the warm water
for my bath, the lather
all over as
granny chatted in
soft heartfelt voices
in the sarong suspended
from a spring hooked onto
a timber, mom's youthful
young voice lulling me
to sleep
me sometimes struggling
in the limited space
wriggling like a worm
with the sarong tight
around me
the elvis-styled hair
mom combed it all up
to the back with thick hair cream
so swift her hands sometimes
it hurt the scalp
the only beating
for coming back in
the 30th position of the class
i ran as she came with her stick
it worked - the next term i got
back into the 10th position
granny with my clothes
walking the street
calling my name
to get me back from illness
a superstitious practice
to get my soul back to me
believed to have fallen
out when frightened by a friend
one night
these and plenty of them
replayed in my mind when granny
died and now as mom ages, the images
of her love become sharper,
a sharpness sharpened by the realisation
that time could not be
turned back and that soon
all would become mere illusions
that would only return now and then
to jolt me into a sea of tears
and pain
images
SINGAPORE
I'm a little island of the East
Discovered by handsome Raffles
The white man who brought me much luck.
It has been a non-stop climb since that day
He came in his schooner, a fear of all pirates.
And here I am now the most efficiently run island
State in the world!
A tropical isle frequented by millions.
Who would ever think I would be here.
Thanks Raffles, thanks Lee Kuan Yew
And all leaders with visions.
Singapore I am, the largest port in Asia.
I started small, in fact, was ill reputed as
disease ridden, and just a collection centre for
rural produce of the Archipelago.
But all big things start small, don't they?
Even the formation of a river starts from trickles;
An important lesson to the Developing World
Which needs inspiration for their climb too.
The beauty of it all are our peoples
Who appreciate the multi-cultural settings
As wealth and potentials for further growth
And unity and not as threats for each others' survival.
The Brits did a good job in laying
The groundwork for future administration.
The Japanese did its part in proving that
Asians do not necessarily mean inferiority.
Singapore was the place where they first
Proved this to the mighty Brits.
Now its leaders carry on that tradition
Proving themselves to be more efficient
Than any others in the world.
Singapore I am a historical place
Where things not only happen
But are also made to happen
A HAVEN FOR ASIAN PRIDE,
A LESSON FOR HUMANITY.
THANKS FOR ALL THOSE WHO MAKE
THIS HAPPEN FRIENDS OR FOES...
Poem Title: CHINA (0)
Poem:
CHINA, THE MIDDLE KINGDOM;
A NAME THAT SMACKS OF
THE NATION'S PRIDE,
BUT WHICH HAS ALSO
CAUSED MANY OF ITS MISERABLE
FAILURES TOO.
A PARADOX IN WORLD'S HISTORY,
CHINA IS BUT A SURVIVOR OF THE ODDS,
NEARLY DOOMED AS FOES RAVAGED
THIS WORLD'S OLDEST CIVILISATION
THE LAST ONE CENTURY.
BUT THANK GOD'S MERCIFUL
TWIST OF HISTORY
WHICH ENABLED THE NATION TO
STAND UP TO THE REST AGAIN.
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
HAS EVENTUALLY LEARNT TO
EMBRACE THE WORLD,
TO WALK HAND IN HAND WITH THE REST
IN ABSORBING THE WORLD CULTURES INTO ITS OWN;
A REALISATION OF THE INADEQUACY OF
KNOWLEDGE AND THAT BEING THE
MIDDLE KINGDOM DOES NOT
MEAN TURNING A BLIND EYE TO
THE REST....
HOW SMALL THE CHINESE WORLD MUST HAVE BEEN
THE LAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS
AS THEY MISCONCEIVED THE STATE OF THE WORLD,
AS THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE THE LEADING RACE,
AS THEY DECEIVED THEMSELVES WITH MEGALOMANIA.
AND AS THEY MISCONTRUED THE MEANING OF THE WORD MIDDLE,
JAPAN, ITS NEARBY NEIGHBOUR
A FORMER DISCIPLE OFFERED AN EVERLASTING
LESSON TO ITS FORMER MASTER.
THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN
OPENED ITSELF UP TO LEARN FROM THE WORLD
AND LATER WAS ABLE TO CARVE UP
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
LIKE A MELON LAID ON A TABLE.
IT WON SOLELY BECAUSE OF
ITS ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT.
THANK GOD, CHINA'S MENTAL DOORS HAVE
EVENTUALLY OPENED FOR
ALL DESIRABLE INFLUENCES.
IT HAS ITS RIGHT TO PROVE ITSELF AS THE
MIDDLE KINGDOM AGAIN BUT
MY GOD, PLEASE LET'S IT BE
A MIDDLE KINGDOM FOR THE
CONVERGENCE OF ALL WORLD'S KNOWLEDGE;
THE REAL MIDDLE KINGDOM OF THIS AGE.
JAPANESE MIND
A highly adaptive brain
Inclined towards
Uniformity - that's
The Japanese mind.
Their first contacts with
The Chinese led to a mad
Scramble of their writing
Systems which they miraculously
Made to fit into their language
Even though the two language
Grammar structures are
As different as
Fire is from water.
But the Japanese creative
And versatile brains
Proved capable in
Turning the impossible
Into possibility.
The Chinese Kanji
Together with Hiragana,
Another Chinese inspired writing system
Were employed in such an
Ingenious way that they
Portray the Japanese
Language efficiently.
For uniformity, the Katakana
Writing system was invented
To differentiate imported
Words from Japanese and Kanji.
The Japanese had had so much
Training in the adaptation
Of foreign Knowledge into
Their own so that
When they made their
First contacts with Western
Technology, it did not
Take them long to learn
And make use of the
Foreign knowledge
In the best way -
Like the way they had made
Used of the Chinese writing
Systems to portray their
Own thoughts.
Throw the Japanese any
New Knowledge and you will
Be sure they will soon
Digest it, adapt it and
Come back to surprise
You with something new.
MALAYSIA
A country less than 50 years old,
At the crossroads between
The Orient and the Occident,
A secret meeting place for myriad races
Since ancient times
Of the Malays, The Thais,
The Indians, the Chinese,
The Arabians, the Portuguese, Dutch,
British, Burmese...
Their legacy is a rich Malay language,
So rich that you could
Find words from all the major
Civilisations overflowing here.
So much romance must have swept
Through this exotic land that
You find a mixed Malay race
Whose profiles are so diverse
That some of them look
100 per cent Caucasians,
Some exactly like Indians, and
Others with very graceful oriental Chinese,
Arabic and Japanese features.
Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam
Swept through the land successively
So that despite the present
Islamic fervours, previous
Practices especially those
Pertaining to marriage, palace
rituals and etiquettes still
Have a bearing over the land.
The Malay race must have had
The best connections to the world
Since time immemorial through
Their heart and soul.
A study into their land and origin
Is a peek not only into the political
History of the world but also a very
Interesting discovery of the romances
Of the local populace with the world.
