Tag: poem

Mask, Oh Mask

Learning
The hidden ID
Brings confidence and courage:
Covert exercise—

Wearing mask has good impact mentally: especially bringing more confidence to do what’s wanted to do (responsibly). Wearing it though might also give some rather unpleasant experience such as not breathing comfortably, needing to nod or squint eyes to show we are smiling, foggy glasses, etc.

While now we are mandated to wear masks once going out of home, hope someday soon mask is mandated only in some area.

Now let’s take this as a short training to be confident and to give up identity for a while for the sake of protecting each other. Training in and out!

Let’s mask ourselves in style. 😷

Tips of wearing mask: not too tight, find masks that give space in front of nose and mouth; disposable is the best but reusable is good enough (wear each based on where you go and whom you meet); change everyday for reusable or twice a day of you need more comfort; wash the reusable after use the soonest possible, sprinkle mask with some herbal oil to bring good air (peppermint and lemon are good choice for breathing); cute reusable brightens days.

May all beings be happy.

always practice squinting eyes in the lift before meeting people out there 😷

Forgiveness

Learning
Anger, Beloved
Consumes hope, kills compassion, 
Drains the lake of love.
Know nothing is permanent.
She forgives all. Karma paid!

Everyone wants to be pleased, which is not wrong. One said that that is like throwing things to a bottomless hole, never ending craving for pleasure taken from others. It is ok to want to be pleased, but don’t suffer for not getting the pleasure that’s wanted.

Change the bottomless hole from a waste field to a mine; that way it would be found the precious experiences, appreciating what’s in and not focusing on what’s out.

Befriending with one’s self is the most challenging and at the same time most fun time. It is 24/7 for the rest of one’s life. Enjoy the ride.

Be kind to others but first of all be kind to yourself, Self.

Summary of a good chat with one best friend.


Shoes: Biting Beauty

Learning
When shoe bites,
Stop walking, sit, check the soles.
Right foot is bigger!

I bought a pair of shoes through an online platform. No, no, not Cinderella’s shoes. They are a pair of brown flat ballerina. First ballerina shoes after seven years without them. For the past seven years I’ve been wearing flat shoes: sneakers, boots and feminine non ballerina because they are comfortable to walk. Why ballerina? I want to look cute. Let’s laugh together!

So, I tried them to walk around the home and tada! I decided to wear them outside and…. The test came. The right shoe started biting me and unluckily no back heel cushions were inserted. I thought no cushions were needed. As a result the right back of heel got a small cut and disturbed the walk.

something like these

It’s fine. At least I had some time of the day with ballerina shoes on, feeling beautiful (in mask, dear…. No one looked at you). Just sharing: now I understand why some beautiful women are willing to hurt their feet wearing those high heels and walking elegantly. They must feel much more beautiful with those much higher-heeled shoes…. 😌

I gave up and stopped at one footwear store to buy a pair of flat, light, white sandals. Life went back to normally beautiful to me…. Yay!

welcome to the club!

May all beings be happy.

Cleaning Time

Learning
Good time  to clean up:
Throw away what’s not needed.
Unstuff. Travel light.

Reviewing my Pinterest account once again, I found that I’ve been hoarding. At the beginning I thought it was cool to collect all the pictures for reference on some topics. Is that? Yes, to some level. No, to some extent.

But still I like it 😁

Checking my home, that’s more interesting. Too many books and they should be soon given away. Getting older, I feel that reading the phenomena surrounding me is much more interesting and enriching than reading books, except reading some comics as part of my language study. That’s better, too so I can save more for future dream— hope the future still wants me. 🥰

Cleaning starts! Some memories are worth erasing.

May all beings be happy.

Pinterest is still incredibly amazing; I’ll keep it 🙂

The Unhealthy Healthy Food

Learning
Not about the food,
More about gluttony. Good!
At least I still chew.

I joined “Eat Well Challenge” in which what’s consumed is calculated and what’s burnt is regulated. I thought it would be as simple as submitting what is eaten. Now I see how healthy both my body and brain will be as the calorie calculation include my weighing the ingredients and decision making on what’s best to combine.

The plan to cook duck has twisted a brain. Duck contains a lot of fat, which is the best part of it. Yummy!!! So…. Duck it is! When calculated, the calorie is high and when it is reported to the challenge platform, it is not counted as the expected healthy food…. Ggrrrrh!

herbs and spices lovey lovey!
cute duck!
hot duck!
only the veggies are accepted as healthy food and the calories are not even half of the duck itself 😂

Don’t overestimate what’s called healthy eating because the calorie calculation will overwrite all the estimation exactly like when you think expressing love honestly will result in respectful rejection, instead you’ll get ignorance and humiliation.

Thanks God for always leading me to self respect and kindness.

May all beings be happy.

Graceful Fortress

Learning, Poetic, This Person, Those People
If eyes tell secrets,
Yours? Fortress protecting town
Full of histories—

Show me your naked eyes, Beloved where I can see the true you. Those sunglasses hide your most beautiful secrets.

May all beings be happy….

Wind

Learning
Wind is sent to Cloud
Who pours Rain down to Soil. Grow!
Seeds inside emerge.

Imagine despair is like the earth longing for rain until suddenly the wind comes pushing lines of clouds that can’t suspend the heavy droplets anymore so turn into rain…. The earth welcomes each of the raindrops happily, hugs each of all seeds which have been buried beneath the dry layers of soil, almost broken, damps and pushes them up above the ground to grow….

Wind…. It takes just one blow of wind to see beautiful colours.

May all beings be happy.

Locating

Learning, Poetic
With a fingertip
You move quadrants. Feel to think.
Don’t you realise?

Sometimes you simply sit and look like doing nothing going nowhere but you’ve moved 7 mountains and 7 oceans to their right locations.

May all beings be happy….

Turn Your Back Around

Poetic
Respect should be earned
Not through masks on the back but....
Genuine face on.

If you think I’ve ignored you, Beloved; perhaps you might want to turn around. You’ve had your back to me all this time…. Face the mirror and see who you really are. 💞

Gotcha!!! 😁😘

rose is beautiful even from the back…. but beautiful mask turns ugly coz fake fades away….

Short Spell Called Names

Learning, Poetic
Name is a short spell. 
Not yours, Beloved. It’s mine
Hanging in Heaven, 
Echoing after yours called.
You can have it all.

How many names have you spelled in prayers? Are they the bold or the beautiful ones?

I call your name, Beloved ‘coz I know it infuses power into prayers like smoke of burnt incense billowing into the sky escorting dreams to meet the doors….

May all beings be happy….

Diamond

Learning, Poetic
Loyalty: old-aged,
Mined, Rubbed, faceted carbon—
4C through life time.

Many women love diamond with different reasons. Some do because of its beauty. Some do because of its prestige. Some do because of following the trend. Some do just because of spending money on anything seen and wanted. Some do because of what it symbolises…. In fact its value has a wide spectrum like why we love someone.

Diamond is just a type of carbon. Carbon is what’s burnt to cook steak. Carbon is what’s chosen for media to grow orchids. Carbon is activated to be a medication for food poisoning. Or simply think of other things containing carbon!

Diamond though is a certain level of carbon which has been buried between layers of earth for millions of years, tested by the pressure, temperature. It’s hardened, purified, strengthened, crystalised.

4C is a familiar acronym for diamond lovers. These 4 C’s show diamond’s quality.

  • Cut: Quality of the angles, proportions, facets, and finishing details ~ level of craftsmanship and precision play important role
  • Color: How colorless the diamond is ~ less colour is the best but colour is at times defined by preference
  • Clarity: How clean the diamond is of inclusions and blemishes ~ the more flawless, the more valuable; but who is flawless, Beloved? The Death is flawless….
  • Carat: The weight of the diamond ~ small carat of diamond can look big; also determined by how the craftsman cuts it

Imagine a human being is a carbon processing one’s self to be a diamond. Stay regardless the pressure and temperature exposed to you, Self. Once you find you, you’re diamond in the making.

May all beings be happy.

useful link: https://www.bluenile.com

Lammie and Khanyisa, unconditional friendship

Bob, love, Poetic
Lammie, Khanyisa,
It is the least I can do.
Friends are forever
When no discrimination.
Can I do? Need a try, sure!

Animals have taught me a lot about many things. One of those is unconditional friendship. Lammie and Khanyisa are a sheep and an albino elephant calf who have been friends without asking why their tails are differently shaped and attached, why their hairs are of different colours, why their teeth are of different length…. Language, religion, nationalities, and so on are never problems. They just grass, rest, play together. What a beautiful world!

If you wanna support Lammie and Khanyisa’s unconditional friendship, you can buy a mug with picture of them printed on it. Mine arrived today through DHL, welcoming me at the front door. Happy yay!

Thanks, Lammie and Khanyisa and HERD! You’ve been much smarter than many of my human kind. I’m sending love to you and your family….. 😘😘😘

https://teespring.com/shop/lammie-and-khanyisa-mug?pid=658&cid=102908
cute cute mugs kiss kiss

Everything?

Poetic
Money, Beloved?
Might not be. Prosperity:
A bunch of blessings
Earned with heart and soul, given
Wholeheartedly. You should know.

Money is important, but it is not everything. Is it? Is it not?

From Tuas With Love On A Bike!

Map It!, Poetic
Tuas, the end point
Where the wheels will start gliding
On the road to home....

I’ll start traveling again! I will go by taxi to the visited site and go home by bike! It is about 34 kilometers! Can’t wait for tomorrow!

I’m speaking with all exclamation marks! 😁 So excited!

Forever Is Fast

Learning
None is forever.
Hold the air. Thank the water. 
Greet the soil. Love’s now.

Singapore - Feb. 1, 2021 / 00:23

Time flies in jet plane! Thought it would be forever to miss you but forever is so fast that suddenly February is here.

No Valentine’s Day this February as it means nothing. Valentine’s happens every second, forever….

May all beings be happy.

Food Is Mood

Learning
Boneless tongue can lie
And taste, too. Leading the mood
To where you have been.

I miss Ubud…. Spending time alone or with some friends in a place where mind can freely digest what’s been hoarded through daily interactions at times bringing negativity and pessimism against life, is one of life’s great blessings.

Missing a place and can’t visit it? Cook the specialty!

Missing someone and can’t even contact him? Me? Hmm…. Just whisper his name….! 🥰

sate lilit ayam, urap kacang + sambel matah
guess what – ground spices and herbs for the chicken
all are finely sliced for sambel matah
minced chicken + grated coconut + ground spices and herbs skewered around lemongrass

Foraging

Poetic
Foraging  culture
Taking from nature for free.
She should gratify.

When biking, I see many kinds of flowers at the side of the roads and most of them just dry and fall off. Falling in love with them, I stopped and plucked some. Did I regret….? A bit of regret, yes but then I whispered to the reservoirs that I thank them for all the freshness and beauty they lend me every time I pass by…..

May all beings be happy.

thanks, white and pink

Punctuation

Poetic
Time to pause or stop
Is punctuated with marks.
Pay more attention.

Ride life with the right punctuation like reading a story with nice intonation and meaningful flow of line, Beloved.

On a comma, halt for a while to breathe….

Cheerful Gerbera

Learning, Poetic
Showers of colours
Splash cheery hello to time.
I wish you warm heart.

Colours can bring certain vibes to a home. And so different colours of flowers create different atmosphere. Although not taking all for granted, I mostly check the meaning of flowers and wish that the supportive qualities symbolised by the flowers will be the energy filling the air.

May all beings be happy.

Hibiscus Or Rose?

Learning
Perennial shrubs:
Diehard under tough weather
It’s her, Beloved.
Don’t see her a rose. She be
Hibiscus— cheap and no thorn....

🌺

Food Makes Mood

Poetic
Breakfast is ready:
One recipe, two kitchens;
One smile, one grimace—

If we start with wrong breakfast, we’ll treat the whole day wrongly? Luckily I’m not a breakfast person. But when my lunch goes wrong, the next half day will be a disaster! 😛

Plan for A Weekend Cooking!

Learning
What is on the plate?
Hope..... For a weekend kitchen—
Taste, texture and smell.....

Cursing, Singing In The Rain

Learning
Gear change in the rain
Between slippery road and
Raincoat left behind—

With years of biking experience I’m supposed to have no problem speeding with bike in Singapore, that’s what my siblings think. But that’s totally misleading. I feel high alert when biking in the rain here. In slope pavement or road I will constantly put hands quite pressure on both brakes, put the easiest gear combination making me look like a beginner biker — slow, doubtful, awkward. While in home country I would go to alternative routes which are many to get to the destination with the same speed enough to bulldoze a wall.

In the rain with blurred goggles because of water and wet body because of no raincoat, it makes it even more awkward coz this mind is swinging between “wanna be careful and go slow” and “race to get home quickly”. What’s more, the big vehicles in the road would either splash water with no mercy when traffic is good or floor the gas pedal not to rev but to let the steam off from the driver’s head in heavy traffic.

Yet there is always good side: I can sing as loudly as I want or curse the drivers with no mercy too ‘coz no one will hear me….

Eh? Human beings are confusing – wanna go safely but taking high risks, wanna curse at people but don’t wanna get heard, wanna be dry but forget raincoat at home…. 🤪

Life is such a paradox, like biking in a heavy rain with no rain coat.

May all beings be happy.

Tipsy Lover Talks About Beloved

Learning
No, Beloved.
You are not red
You are not yellow
You are not blue
Only.
You are all gradationally spread from one point to another,
Occupying Space,
Led by Time.

Time makes all matter.
It becomes every milestone of journey.
It gives chances to clarify the direction of journey.
It sets free what should be said and what should be held back. Enjoy.

Space is a secondary supporting detail.
It doesn’t talk about the essence of journey.
It shows what’s been hoarded by a traveler.
It  neglects what’s importance.
It helps slow down when break is needed
But at times it obscures the signs and messages. Beware!

Stay where you are, Beloved with no nerves
Knowing that space won’t corrupt you.
It is a lining of colours in different levels of degree that beautifies your existence.

Don’t quit, Beloved whichever the speed is
Knowing that time sharpens your perceptive.
It is what will be weighed and presented as a gift.

You see that, Beloved?
Or not?
Oh, I know you’re tipsy!
😁

—

A free verse about time and space between the Lover and the Beloved.

Bored to death! Thanks God it’s Monday tomorrow!

Singapore - Jan. 17, 2021 / 22:00
gradation can make things either bright, dull, intriguing, boring — focused or bokeh, both are beautiful

Another Phew!

Learning
Raining cats and dogs
Leaves laundry damped and undone
But plants glorious.

When a mountain of clothes after two weeks of undone laundry is waiting to iron and the cleaning lady isn’t available to help this weekend, it feels like…. 🤮

Better playing with some of the happy plants in between the work, moving them to a place where they can enjoy the sun while they can

Shower room windows give them chance to sunbathe after days of rain in another corner.

Wishing You Jazzy Days

Learning
There’s not much to tell,
Beloved. Let’s play it jazz
‘Coz we know the tunes.
You’d sing the rhymes, Beloved?
Or would you please read the rhythms?

No day will be 100% as expected. No one will be 100% as expected, either. And with those expected, we know that only with jazzy mood days and people can be handled without too much stress.

Nothing beats inner peace. And whether you know it or not, I wish you, Beloved a great time, too.

May all beings be happy.

Singing With Wind

Learning
She sings a love song
With Wind through the door whistling
Melodiously....

Eight of ten days in January are rainy. Two days only are with sun shines warmly greeting the window.

On those eight days there has been wind pushing cold air and at times water into the living room or kitchen through the windows opening ajar. While it is cooling, it though wets the floor and curtain. While it is a bit scary at night, it though turns to whistles adding sound effect to the radio that’s on 24 hours this weekend.

Hope the water won’t be too much as I heard there has been flood in some places because of heavy rain. Hope everything will be fine for all creatures in this rainy season: all animals and homeless get sufficient food and shelter everyday.

May all beings be happy.

Scents Of The Unknown

Poetic, This Person
Scents of the unknown
Lingers in the air. Muguet:
Earthy, green, floral—
You’ve turned spark to fire burning
Dreams to fuel a sweet journey.

All people love fragrance; not necessarily perfume but yes I’m talking about it.
Let’s agree that fragrance is one of the best gifts in life – I mean…. I am not naturally smelling like flowers, but I love nice air coming into my nostrils and celebrating the beauty of nature through one of the human’s senses. Don’t you?

At times when we are wearing perfumes, we’ll subconsciously reminisce moments featuring individuals that we might or might not clearly remember.

Lemongrass mostly reminds me to Ayutthaya. Jasmine connects to a place in Erawan, Bangkok. Frangipani brings Ubud back to memory. Rose to one factory in Vietnam. Lemon brings me to my humble abode in Greater Jakarta. Sandalwood to my mother who loves sandalwood. Lavender to my father whose pomade was lavender-based. And so on, and so forth.

Recently there came unknown scents that reminded me to some people. I was browsing perfumes, and trying certain fragrances, particular moments and faces struck me stealthily. Goodness! Now I captured them through various fragrances! Moments, faces and nuances intertwined in the liquid. The memories might have been traced and downloaded by our brain! Unknown scents have empirically proved to represent impression caught about someone.

I’m now liking lily of the valley or muguet scent because it reminds this person to a most beloved. I don’t think that person splashed muguet when meeting with me but he suits that attar. What an overestimation it is! It’s ok, he doesn’t know 😂

Recommended: Go for a new experience in perfumery and investigate what scents connect you to what moments or which individuals. You might find a way to get rid of bitter past and/or revive good spirits to be happy.

Guess I know why I can’t relate well to some people that’s why they are connected to certain aroma that I’m not fond of. Probably…. Or just my superstition….

One person’s favourite scents might not be others’ ones.

That’s life.

Singapore – Jan. 7, 2021 / 23:06

May all beings be happy.

one of pictures in Wikipedia – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_of_the_valley