painted poesies

mad wait...

2006-06-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

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?

2006-03-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-25T03:42:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

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

:)

2006-02-23T02:18:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-22T02:56:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-04T00:10:00.000-08:00

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.

2006-01-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

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...

:-)

2005-12-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

shut the door. don't let in.
they will rob you. if you do.
and you will be left empty. inside.
you would want them to visit again. still.
and hating them for it too.

you will keep biting on that bruised lip.
taste your own blood.
and like it too.
all the while hating them for it.
so guard your sanity.
take one step at a time.

shut the door. before they barge in.

2005-12-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Tsim Tsa Tui Waterfront. 17.12.05. Afternoon.

ever gazed at
sun kissed water
star spangled

ever counted the sparkles
one two three four
there... there one more

rise and fall
small-er and yet small

ever dipped a finger
to pickup the glitter

i picked up one
and put on my lashes
and let it fall
it tasted like a tear
salt sprinkled sparkle

only...
this time it wasn't my own

patches of color

2005-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

a

i paint with fervor
patches of color
one beneath the other
over and over

the dark canvas that i behold
stories darker, never to be told
my mind darker still
like a lonesome night, that stands still

yet, i paint with fervor
patches of color
one beneath the other
over and over

a dash of red here
some yellow there
yellow and red dance up a flare
yet, the canvas remains dismal and bare

so i paint with fervor
patches of color
one beneath the other
over and over

i fervently paint
green, a somber tint
yellow that burns bright
and illumines the dark night
there still resides
the darker night inside
that so longs to be painted bright

so i paint with fervor
patches of color
one beneath the other
over and over

at dawn, my patches come to life
all is forgotten, all pain and strife.
my canvas is dark still, but not quite
for the hopeful colors burn bright
just like it is in life

and before i bid adieu
i gift my color of life to you

unspoken words. arms around me.

2005-11-19T01:20:00.000-08:00

a

Stanley beach, last year.

unspoken words
some possessiveness
arms around me
and that assurance
that you will be there
always there

early mornings
coffee in bed
misty mornings
cuddles in bed
just lie there
unspoken words
some possessiveness
arms around me

early mornings
sleepy eyes
filled with mischief
tousled hair
on the pillow
on you
just lie there
unspoken words
some possessiveness
arms around me

a warm embrace
a pleasant surprise
a kiss on the neck
whispers in my ears
unspoken words
some possessiveness
arms around me

why did you
why didn't you
feigned tantrums
some appeasing
and through it all
some possessiveness
unspoken words
and then your arms around me

a hard days work
home and you
not the words i love you
just the words I'll be there
and that assurance
that you will be there
always there

cotton wool clouds

2005-11-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

a

how nice it would be
to feel free
light at heart
not soaking wet
and heavy

to glide through life
detached, yet together
but detached

like
cotton wool clouds
clustered together
yet apart

buoyant and carefree
how nice it would be

blue window

2005-10-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

a

blue, past the window
mellow and luminous make love
languid, stretching, seamless
intrusive horizon, none
merry shades just round the corner
there, do you see that?
right after the somber ones
like you and me
like us, like 'was'
most of the time...

blue, past the window
vast, intimidating, unfathomable
distant, like a third person
that i observe
intrusive horizon, faint
yet there
there, do you see that?
like you and me, me and you
not us, like 'is'
most of the time...

edge

2005-10-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

i stand at the edge of my world
like a twig about to drop
the vastness of the sea beneath me
the triviality of my world behind me
i wonder
is this how it feels
when one is at the edge of an end?
one feet lingering outside of the edge,
into nothingness
and one that holds on to everything else

dark curls blow in the wind
as if, to pull me away from the leap
as i lean towards the vastness
i glance at my world from the corner of my eye
that little cottage at the edge
that tilts, much like me
but never leaves the edge
unlike me

and then, not today i thought
its evening
time for you to come back, perhaps
to that world of mine by the edge
i shall take the leap, tomorrow
perhaps...