mad wait...

i fold the rain in layers
run fingers over it
smoothen the naughty running scattered creases
put them to sleep
hang it on the window sill
and wait for the wind to fan it dry
starch it stiff

i sit by the window sill
the folded rain drips and drops
dripping wet still
soaking the window sill
and I wait for the wind to arrive

while i wait, knee to chin
i gaze at the moon, frowning
bumpy with rashes, itchy and scowling
i reach one arm out
scratch the itchy armless moon
scratchy itchy armless harmless moon
i scratch it, soothe it, pat its bald head
soothed and calmed
the moon breaks into a grin
i grin back, knee to chin

i look out the window
still grinning, knee to chin
and i notice the green
the sappy, happy, mossy, grinning green
banana leaf green

i reach one arm out
scratch the green
scratch a mossy green patch clean
fingertips green, fingernails green
the green travels up my limbs
gnarly green veins
the wispy cotton dress turns green
eyes turn a sappy happy mossy green
i turn into a jungle queen!

and i wait by the window sill
the rain drips and drops, still
wetting the window sill
flooding the ground beneath

i look down and gaze astonished
as the ground below turns and twists
and The brown below struggles to turn blue
or is it blue that's trying to break free?!
boiling, gurgling, erupting
swirling, unfurling, wild blue
i watch stupefied, wide-eyed
as the ocean twists its limbs
roars and breaks free

still gazing at the blue
i roll a green lizard tongue out
in a flash i stick it out
slurp some blue, gulp it down
and lick my lips clean
smack!
this blue is a wine
a cherry red wine
a cherry red blue wine
that tastes just fine!

and i the jungle queen
sit by the window sill, still
slurping on my blue wine
grinning at the grinning moon
and i wait for the wind to arrive
to fan the dripping rain dry

capsule

years in a capsule.
a week long capsule.
a lifetime in one.

sea. ripples. smooth. calm.
waves. crashing. wild. child.
rocks. rough. corroded. eroded.
sand. soft. moist. imprinted.

pain. hope. hope. past.
moments. flashes.
time stood still.
still flashed past. fast.
sights. sounds. bleeps. horns.
air. mist. smog. smoke.
street snacks. skewers. stoke.

thunderstorms. rain.
rainstorm. alarms.
gushing rushing greys.
wild churning blues.
swaying crazy greens.

people. crowd. crowd. people.
crowded people. lonely people.
crowded lonely people.

streets. narrow. lanes. narrower. still.
streets. lights. halogens. flourescents.
billboards. signboards. larger than life.
larger than life. skyscrapers.
tall buildings. ambitions. taller. still.

busy. awake. alive. moving. rushing.
pushing. shoving. apologising.
then pushing shoving.
still. rushing.

so much to pour inside.
pour it all inside.
pack it in.
stuff it in. stuff it all in.

gulp it down.
hope for it to stay. inside.
forever.

a step ahead?

thick fog surrounds
i stretch my hand out
blinded by the mist
i touch and feel
let my palms see

does the trail stretch ahead
a destination, a rest house
or perhaps barren expanse instead?
does it lead to the dense woods?
or is this where it all ends
what if i take a step
will i be spared?

i seldom speak

i seldom speak
i speak in written words
very few words, I know of
random strewn few words
so, i seldom speak

i speak to chat windows
through my fingertips
to windows i think i know
but i don't, i know

they make me feel
safe for a while
sane for a while
i exist for a while
in my mind, i hear words
for a while
i speak to chat windows

but these windows are few
one or two... yes very few
so i speak
lesser than i thought i would
than i thought i could

i could count on fingertips,
of times that i speak
scattered saturdays,
same coffeeshop
long distance calls,
unwelcome calls

yes i seldom speak
yet at times
i don't wish to speak

a few more years
you might forget how i sound...

a girl once

This is Work in Progress...
I will keep updating this poem as and when words come to me and put them up on the blog. I thought the intial draft didn't quite sound right, it started well but fell apart in the middle. So well, let me see how this one goes. Hope i find the words, i am not yet sure, where this will lead to...

a girl once - feb23.06

there was this, a girl once
who pranced around in childlike gait
clicked her fingers
kicked her feet
flicked her hair in a single plait

she tossed the pebbles
white and grey
light and dark
and plenty shades
she tossed the pebbles
that grazed the waters
of that calm and silver silky lake

she smiled at strangers
smiled at friends
smiled at boys with tousled hair
an open smile with one tooth less
she stuck her tongue out
from that tiny cave

she stood by the window
stood on tip-toe
she Gazed out wide eyed
pressed her face
and that squashed little nose

---
a girl once - feb16.06

there was this, a girl once
who pranced around in childlike gait
clicked her fingers
kicked her feet
flicked her hair in a single plait

she tossed the pebbles
white and grey
light and dark
and plenty shades
she tossed the pebbles
that grazed the waters
of that calm and silver silky lake

she smiled at strangers
smiled at friends
smiled at boys with tousled hair
an open smile with one tooth less
she stuck her tongue out
from that tiny cave

---

a girl once - feb13.06.

there was this, a girl once
who pranced around in childlike gait
clicked her fingers
kicked her feet
flicked her hair in a single plait

she tossed the pebbles
white and grey
light and dark
and plenty shades
she tossed the pebbles
that grazed the waters
of that calm and silver silky lake

flowery frocks in summer evenings
springs she sat on a swinging swing
winters saw the snowflakes cling
hazy windows and misty mornings

summers came and so did winters
spring too, through the years
that little girl who was once
no longer did she
prance around in childlike gait
clicked her fingers
kicked her feet
flicked her hair in a single plait

tell her, they did
she needs be a woman
with eyes that studied
cautious steps and grounded feet
tell them, she did
she was a woman indeed
with careful eyes
cautious steps and grounded feet

and then when there was none
she would be that girl once
who pranced around in childlike gait
clicked her fingers
kicked her feet
flicked her hair in a single plait

:)

rootless, restless
painful, numb
all at once

anger, love
guilt and hate
free and shackled
clean and mangled

strong and weak
mornings bleak
searching longing
hoping loathing
loving blaming

scratching healing
healing clawing
pain inside
screaming mind

all...
because of you...

thank you

blush of pink

a blush of pink
a brush of lips
m-e-m-o-r-i-e-s on
f-i-n-g-e-r-t-i-p-s

I have never been one blessed with words. So, I was surprised, when i found myself attempting poetry albeit with much hesitation at first instance. I do not think of myself as someone who can write poetry. Still. Far from it. Actually. But occasionally i give in to word play. As much as my vocabulary and feelings permit. This blog is a record of poems that i have and will post on my main blog. Just a place to collect and put them together, much like a sheaf of paper...

They are posted as they appear on the main blog.

quietude

quietude seeps in.
s-l-o-w-l-y.
over years.
sinks in deep.
mutes the noise.
loud. muffled. then...


quiet.


the want to announce. not a hint.
words. pick and choose. choose and pick.
rest. pat them to sleep.
Shh...


quiet.


when its quiet. within.
see. the rainbow in a dewdrop.
discover. shades of lush greens. cool blues.
hear. the rustle of leaves.
listen. to your musings.

Tsim Tsa Tsui waterfront. 070106.

i have a quiet heart
it likes its place
it keeps to itself
never quite as audacious
it falls quietly
and gets up in silence

i have a loud mind
it never rests still
wanderer that it is
it dares and imagines
peeps into nooks and crannies
and tells me stories

what if...
it was a restive heart
and a quiet mind
it would be easy to get over and focus
perhaps...

:-)