Category: Poetic

Freshness

Learning, Poetic
A window shows some
What’s in both sides with freshness
Hidden by curtains.

—

Let’s refresh. Refresh. Refresh.

Salaam.

celebration of freshness through centrepiece of orange and yellow
orange lily
yellow gerbera
orangish red or reddish orange gerbera
what is it? cute beauty!
another cute beauty 😁

Sweet Surprises

Learning, Poetic
Sweet surprises march
Silently following a season
Bringing colours to the sight.
Don’t hold breath,
They stay quite long
To give more space
For wow! and whoa!

—

I think I don’t give my orchids enough attention that I always see the bud rather late— only when they are long enough to stand out.

Sorry….

And thanks much! for giving me surprises after several years not blooming.

Salaam.

i guess she is pink
i guess she is yellow
i guess she is purplish white

Music

Learning, Poetic
Close your eyes tight
If you hate to see me.
You will fall asleep
Peacefully.

Unlucky you,
Beloved.

You cannot block your ears
If you hate my music.
Your earbuds will amplify it
Loudly.

You will get used to it
And die while joyfully humming it.

My music,
My breathing
Will become your music,
Your breathing.

A
Heart
Beats—

—

inspired by QS 15:29

not everyone though

No Regret

Learning, Poetic
One by one they fall,
Petals decompose to soil,
Fertilising life—

—

when i see more fine lines under my eyes, i feel blessed that i am alive up to this age; i wish to live longer with the same amount of love or even more 💝 there is no regret for all are signs and turns to the home 💝

Emergency

Learning, Poetic
Fly, leaf with the wind
Pushing you to where you go
For joy and safety.

—

near the wing, near the emergency exit — both safe area yet the most critical for action, while extremely sleepy; it doesn’t matter, the passenger (in mask) sitting next to me said “let me open it in case of emergency, you may sleep” — what a nice flight: sleeping in a calm flight, guarded by an unknown angel 🙏🏼

Primary Patience

Learning, Poetic
Prime time must be secured,
Said they.
Wait! In what definition?
Time to get mature?
Time to board the flight?
Time to earn TV ads?

Time to be patient.

It’s this time
Yet
No time primarily.

—

At young age I was told that there were 3 types of need: primary, secondary and tertiary in which primary included shelter, clothing and food. Now my primary need increases to 4 with internet connection added. On the same floor of my apartment there are at least 17 wifi links connectible or locked including mine. My mother’s house has been installed with wifi so she can enjoy more information and entertainment, her grandchildren can play games freely when staying overnight, her daughter (me) can work with ease when visiting and (i guess knowing my mother’s (over)generosity) so some next door neighbours’ children can sneak the wifi to browse around from their homes.

While GOOD internet connection is a primary need in some places, it is still secondary in some others. Outside Singapore (even when traveling to Japan) I feel “tortured” by the low speed. In Indonesia (oh people will all have patience as their super power after dealing with the internet connection outside prominent cities) and other South East Asia countries (please, Singapore might be a European country lost among us) good internet connection might be secondary or even tertiary.

Uh and oh are my normal expressions when I spend my holiday or long weekends in my mother’s house. My nephews and nieces who visited me in Singapore has claimed “There is no word “loading” in your home. In here you have to wait for a while because loading is a must process. Be patient. Be patient. Be patient, dear. Hahaha….” 😁

And yes, some work cannot wait but have to wait until I arrive home because internet connection is not yet a primary service every time everywhere.

Salaam….

i told my nephews and nieces to be patient in some situations; yet when dealing with internet connection for work, everything nice about being patient is just a meme to me 😝

Time Is A Fortress

Learning, Poetic
Time is a fortress
Protecting from memories
Of love that once bloomed.

—

i bought a rose to tell myself that some emotions will soon fade away like flowers that wither through time 🥀 especially with very slim memories in store 💝

Weekend Is Coming

Learning, Poetic
Weekend is coming
Completing a full cycle
Between work and rest.

—

when she can’t find Friday late flight and is in Penang, what can she do but enjoying the slow time — griiin!
it’s weekend and work’s done — smiiile!
dinner 🙃
complimentary — arrgh!
it’s the fruit challenge to report today
a friend called “Rike, let’s go durian party! we’ll pick you up at 7” — oh, Penangites! 😁

Hot Party

Learning, Poetic
Met
In a circle
Glowing
In their own lights.
No disco ball,
No loud music,
No expensive wine,
No trendy bar,
No dancing floor,
No smoke,
No things fancy,
No luxury,
None—
Oh!
They are not that innocent.
They gossip those funny facts,
They laugh at each others
And at others,
They munch baskets of food,
They drink gallons of water,
They sip wine to tipsy,
They speak loud and lots,
They enjoy some music,
They gather humbly.
They oopsy WE do it worse
Just differently from other decent parties.
Ordinary we—

—

recent hot party with good friends; thank you, dear humble life 💝

Jewels

Learning, Poetic
Between green and blue
There is this heart.
It adorns this white soul.
They adore each other.
One hums melodies to the other.
The other recites lyrics to the one.
One by one the stones are strung.
A strand, two strands, three strands—
They are jewels that embelish.
They beautify the beauty.

—

RC Gorman’s woman and turquoise

Garden

Learning, Poetic
Colours, hues, shades, tints
In a garden strike the eyes
Wandering within.

—

I am on an emergency short leave to visit my mother as my mother is sick. A sister called saying “she doesn’t want to eat”, “she can’t sleep well”, “she doesn’t want to visit her doctor”, “she thinks it is her time”, blahblahblah…. Alamak! Although sometimes we think she can be a drama queen, we start to think seriously when she can’t sleep well.

The second day of my visit she already watered her plants that line along my sister’s narrow garden. She sang along while walking in her house. She ate one big chunk of fast food’s fried chicken that my nephews insisted taken away for her. She has been back to her nature after meeting her children and grandchildren whom she missed who are now laughing with her at every breakfast, lunch and dinner time.

This morning she happily greeted the newspaper lady delivering her favourite “Jawa Pos”, the lady said “good morning, Ibu, you look radiant again”. She also had a short chat with her front neighbour about rain, cats and plants.

I think sometimes you just need to meet someone to be healthy. 💗

Yesterday morning I joined her watering the plants and took pictures of some of the blooms that have always made us all smile.

Salaam.

java tea — we call it “kumis kucing” here
jasmine sambac, everlasting fragrance — her favourite
zinnia, the humble beauty
white bougainvillea, the tough beauty
orchids at the left side of the gate — “your sister is a good gardener, she has made your orchids happily bloom!” she said
the one at the other side
the one squeezed between leaves

A Gift

Learning, Poetic
What can a gift do?
Dance in the heart of friendship,
Rest in the friends’ soul—

—

Kinokuniya has much bigger collection than the bookstore in Changi airport; yet the books I buy for my friends are all from this airport. Is it because my search of books wanted by friends is always ready here? Or is it impulse buying? 😂

It doesn’t matter which one as long as it is for a good friend.

Salaam.

a gift for a friend

Peace

Learning, love, Poetic
This corner is quiter,
Sitting on a placid lake,
Where still water
Hides a huge secret
Called love,
Is covered with a vast blanket
Called peace.

This corner is cozy,
Getting warmer and calmer,
Where a cat
Curls in a bed
Called dream,
Is lullabied with long slumber
Called hope.

How peaceful it is
Pampered with a life
Called humble.

Salaam.

—

salaam means peace

Sufficed

Learning, Poetic
Sufficiently served—
Each season presents a gift
That is grateful for.

—

once upon a time a healthy lady
slightly less healthy another day
then sugarrr! 😘

Mirror in Us

Learning, love, Poetic
It might not be clear
As the mirror is not clean.
Reflection of
You on me
Is as clear as the song sung by the breeze,
Whistling softly
On to these eardrums.

Swoosh!
You whisper,
I could hear,
We both share unvoiced laughter.
Is that our smiles
Or grins
That we both share from miles away?

You
Are playing so well,
I
Stay hugging this heart
That shrinks with 
Your coldness, 
That shines with
Your old shadow.

Dear, heart.
Stay flawless mirror.
With you I see 
Beloved.
Be it beast or beauty,
My love is worth reflecting clearly.

—

love reflects to a mirror called heart, the clarity depends on the clearness not the size 💕

Melody

Learning, love, Poetic
Melody of my soul
That I wish to connect to
You
Has flown away.
I see
You
Sing another melody
Not even of my tunes.

Love is unforceable.

Sweetly I can smile.
Amazingly I can pray.
These steps are farther and farther
Pushed away by
Your icy melody to me.

—

my favourite melody since I didn’t know what the lyrics were about 😁 thanks to my beloved sister for introducing me to Queen
another melody i love! ice, ice baby! 🥰 thanks to my beloved sister for introducing me to Vanilla Ice!

Cooked

Learning, Poetic
Rice is cooked to be rice. It’s the same name, yet not the same. Raw then cooked—

—

sometimes you know someone is cooking you; just pretend you don’t know that you’re being cooked and feel your own love

(In)Visible Monster

Learning, Poetic
Not under the bed, it’s what she’s slept with since she was a cute baby.

—

I am obviously my own monster; haunting, hunting me forever will be 💝 the best company ever

Love Day

Learning, love, Poetic, This Person
What is love day? 
A day when love is precious?
Only once a year?
How stingy human being is!
To express love only on that day—

Maybe they are afraid
Of saying love to
That they love dearly.

Maybe expression is
Embarrassing and too low
That they dump it cruelly.

Maybe love is considered a myth
Scientifically unproven
That it is skipped.

Maybe….
So much maybe.

I will still love
You
In silence
As
Love has made my heart pretty
Although rejection and ignorance
Once made it ugly.

All days are my love days.

To my
Beloved—

—

learned love from texts
looked for it everywhere
found it in beauty
the love keeps evaporating to the air that is breathed
melting to the water that is sipped
repeatedly exploding to illuminate the journey
let me sing love songs in silence to and for you
and sweetly silently celebrate it when i’m wishing to be

Singing Heart

Learning, Poetic
This heart sings. Its notes witness through pitch and tempo. Genres of the soul—

—

whatever the story is, i’ll tell it musically

Well Done

Learning, Poetic

The wind flies dry leaves to where travel’s light and memory’s full. Well done—

—

big lunch before big laundry — well done!
ready mussels
done!
roasting potato
on medium fire, don’t add water
sauté
(not so) fresh green mussels
carrot & celery
garlic & ginger
big basket of laundry after big lunch 😊 well done!