NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #30 - why i was thinking of a lighthouse

Oh, man. this is it!

I would like to end the challenge with something uplifting, hopeful. Some of the stuff I wrote for this edition are pretty dark. :)

Oh wow!





image by dsnake1



why i was thinking of a lighthouse


because one night i woke up wanting to feed you
but baby, your face, like a moon in the cradle
your skin glowed like stardust in the moonlight
your breathing was the song of the stars
a faint scent of talc as the stand fan oscillated
i was holding a bottle of milk not wanting to wake you
just sitting on the cold tiles, looking at you
thinking you are the beacon in our lives, our lighthouse
your eyes were closed, there was a faint smile
your lips moved slighly, and i said i love you too
but baby, you do not yet know about the ways of this world
and it is better to keep it this way.


30/04/2013
**********









© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #29 - birds of prey

Urgh! only two more days to go!

A fantasy tale today. A dark fantasy piece.







birds of prey


we wait
for the dusk
to scatter
the last of the
light

on cliff edges
that was once
the bastions
of mighty
citadels

and as the
last shards
of light splinter
and fall like
broken glass

we stretch
our wings the leather
taut with muscles
leap off
the precipice

soar over
the smoke & ruins
of a world
torched by
atomic fire.


29/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #28 - monostich #13 - quarrel

the finishing line..




image by dsnake1




monostich #13




broken crockery in trash bin last night's quarrel





© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #27 - tired

some days are like this...




image from imageafter.com




tired



the leaves of spring fall
because they are too sad
they are too tired to cling on
anymore
for darkness has fallen
even in the mid-day
even the crows
keep their distance
in the bare branches
and shadows hide
in the skins of walls
frozen stiff.


27/04/2013
**********








© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #26 - monostich # 12

still hanging on...




image by dsnake1
done with Sketchpad from mugtug




monostich #12


lilac scent her blouse of floral prints.


26/04/2013
**********








© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #25 - dust

sigh.







dust


dust
on
tabletop

i
write
your name


25/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #24 - innocence

Wow, twenty four days and haven't skipped a day yet.







innocence


i)

another morning -

in the child's eyes
a bottle of milk


ii)

how many more mornings
before innocence

is lost.


24/04/2013
**********





© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #23 - ^

the eyes can play tricks.







^


i think it sits
in a dark corner
of the office,
a lone grey shadow
quietly shifting,
perhaps it was the lights
perhaps i have watched
one too many
japanese horror movies,
they have the effect
of making you afraid

of

bathrooms
mirrors
baseball bats

and i can't wait
to walk off
into the warm night.


23/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #22 - the two of us

A monostich is a 1-line poem.

image by dsnake1

drawn with Sketchpad from mugtug.com

monostich # 11



just the two of us and the stars in the sky.


22/04/2013
**********







© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #21 - block 115

Took out an old, unpublished poem and did some rewriting. Nasty.







block 115


this place, home
to lost years
of our youth

this turf
we stayed
nerves taut

as we stepped
out
of doors

to walls
slashed
with graffiti

corridor lights
blown off
shards on floors

taunts
that stab
like barbs

and

parang slashes,
needles and
the dark vomit

last night's
alcohol
meths

like squashed
spiders
on stairs

festering
a wound in
the city's innards

the cigarette
butts that were
burnt to the filters

every tobacco flake
every grain
of heroin

was too expensive
to waste
like life

that tinge of
helplessness
on faces

too immune
to pain

too lost
in suffering

this place we
called home

and i still
love her
despite what she
threw at me.

because i am
a fool.



01/07/2008
21/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #20 - why the boss never ask why i was late

once a while, i really have no idea what to write...








why the boss never ask why i was late


1. The bus was late.
2. The bus was late, as usual
3. The bus was later than usual.
4. The bus was not late, but there was a big jam
5. Two guys fought in the bus.
6. There was a suspicious package in the bus.
7. It was raining, you know how slippery the roads can get.
8. Taxi fares have gone up again.
9. I can't afford taxi fares.
10. The boss was late.


20/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #19 - slowing down

It's getting a bit difficult to write...







slowing down


you try to take it , like,
you know, slow down, just a little,
at the foodcourt,
your eyes scanning for empty tables
so you can put down your tray of lunch
you have been holding for the past x minutes.
did everyone scurry out of their rabbit warrens
at the same freakin' time?
every day?
scanning the news a little,
how can someone crash a lambo into a road divider oh my god!



19/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #18 - monostich #10 - lances

Another monostich. I think weeds can survive anywhere...





image drawn by dsnake1 
with Sketchpad from mugtug.com




monostich #10



a green phalanx wave its lances as the weeds camped along the fence.


18/04/2013
**********







© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #17 - the hills

This is something from my military days.








the hills


we hate those hills don't we?
coated by an armour of lallang,
the mimosa like barbed wires.

in our foxholes, smelling of earth
we are hoping there is no rain
at least for this night.

a lighter flares, a cigarette glows
red in the next hole
a click of a safety catch,

a muffled cough,
then we settle down
for the night

the stars above
have come out to watch,
peeping from a veil
of moth-eaten clouds,
the twinkling lights
of apartment blocks
down slope.
we can only imagine
people sleeping,
reading the papers,
watching tv with a beer,

home & safe

while we are here
cradling weapons,
thinking of home too

but mostly
of sleep



17/04/2013
**********




Notes: I wanted to write about the events at Boston, but I can't.

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #16 - monostich #9 - tea

a monostich is a 1-line poem.





image by dsnake1
made with sketchpad from mugtug.com



monostich #9


earl grey swirling golden in my white china cup.


16/04/2013
**********








© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #15 - throes

Halfway point. Great!

A word of warning. Today's offering may be a bit, "yikes!".







throes


a pigeon
on the concrete
of an apron
buries its head
deeply in its chest
and slowly
keels over
rolls a bit
like a plush toy
then stays belly-up
legs stiff
and lays there

in the hot sun

until a clearner
on his rounds
comes over
and tosses it
into his trash bag


15/04/2013
*********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #14 - jam

Urg! It's getting tougher...







jam


As I hummed a tune about the great steppes, my bus arrives, jam-packed as usual.



© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #13 - early morning transport

Going back home after finishing work in the early ours is a bother...







early morning transport


it's 5 a.m. +
and all i am thinking is home.
but the taxis won't stop.
the drivers see
a single male
with a bag
and just speed on.

perhaps it was the bag.

after the 4th
uncooperative cab or so,
the first bus of the day comes,
it's headlights flaring.
it stops
when flagged.
the driver
is sullen,
a couple of passengers
laid in the seats
like dead fishes.

but really it's okay.


13/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #12 - dragonfly

one-word titles for the past 3 days?







dragonfly



i will not roam
the vast acres of green
i should have known
for i
trapped in this grey city
my wings
heavy with humidity
my dreams
only of home
i am tired
even the dark walls
are mocking
in their silence


12/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #11 - longing

still thinking of someone today...







longing


if i could pluck the stars
put them in a jar
will you come back to me?


11/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #10 - bear

something from the past...







bear


She dragged me into the departmental store, to the toys, and pointed to a teddy bear, an exquisite, plush cutie, her eyes glowing with excitement, and I said, "but you have already 25 others" and dragged her out of the mall.

But that evening, I was back there, with the milling crowd and Christmas carols, I thought, what's the problem with one more bear, and at the gift-wrap counter, I told the lady the bear was for a very special person, and she smiled.


10/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #9 - black

Is this a haiku?







black


black

blade of asphalt sheathes into a scabbard of night

sky



09/04/2013
**********





© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #8 - the web

It happened. In a park.







the web


well, those silky strands
are for flies and such
but near-sighted me
put my face
in one of these.
the pride hurts like ouch.


08/04/2013
**********





© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #7 - ink

One week already?

another dark piece.







ink


the day bleeds
black as ink
stifling
in the crush
of a snake's grip.


07/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #6 - a point in your life

hahaha. It was during the lunch break in my office, when I was feeling cold and old, that this whole piece gushes out. I hope to have more lunch breaks like this.









a point in your life


so you come to a point in your life,
you feel cold, you feel old, booze
no longer excites, instead it plays punk
with your sphincters, the doctor sees you
and no longer asks what is bugging you
but tells you to keep off the oily stuff.

you watch weeds grow and wonder who
or which is more unwanted, the streets
growl at you and fumes and dust gets into
your eyes and coffee, children look at you
in fright and not merely because of your stubble,
and you don't rage anymore.

and so the best exercise you had in days
is to turn your head to watch that woman
in the short shorts walks by in the sidewalk
her full hips moving with a beat that stops
your heart.

you watch the sun sets over the highrises
at the quay, someone mentions a drunk had
walked into the river and drowned a couple of days back,
just a few paces where you sat, the day gets more
unsettling as a crow caws and tugs at a roadkill and
you fear your number may be up.


06/04/2013
**********





© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #5 - untitled

Ugh! a ku will do.








untitled


outside is cold
but the bed is warm.

i silence the alarm clock



05/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #4 - hachiko, the dog who waited

Today's inspiration comes from a photo my daughter took while in Japan. When she was in Tokyo, I told her, please, get me a picture of Hachiko's statue.

I have had dogs before, and I can understand why they are called man's best friend...




photo by YunPing
at Shibuya Station, Tokyo




hachiko, the dog who waited




another evening
another incoming train

the platform is cold
at Shibuya

nine long years
still
no sign of master.


04/04/2013
**********

---

Notes: This piece feels a bit uncompleted. Maybe I will rework it in the future.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #3 - mt. vernon, qingming 2013

Day 3. The muse is still alive.

Something personal today.





photo by dsnake1
with a Huawei Ascend


mt. vernon, qingming 2013



every year i am here
with the flowers and incense
to clean your grave
to clean that portrait
in the marble
that had smiled at me
all these years


i do not cry now
perhaps time has helped
but as always
i call your name
sometimes i bring a beer
light a cigarette
do the things we did


the sky today
is a shade of battle grey
yet a sun peeks out
its rays bathing your face
it is time to go then
i hesitate, i touch
that marble again



03/04/2013
**********

---

Notes: During the Qingming Festival, the Chinese people visit the graves and burial grounds of their ancestors, sweep and clean the tombs, and make offerings of food, tea, joss sticks and paper.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #2 - one night on a quiet road

Day 2 and looking good. This piece looks/sounds jerky but that's what I intended.








one night on a quiet road



startled

the bat fluttered
in the space
inches from my

face

startled

my face
white as the lines
on the asphalt



02/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013

NaPoWriMo 2013, Day #1 - the neighbourhood cat

The first day is always tough. It's hard to start the engines. But thanks to a cat the other day...








the neighbourhood cat


waiting for the lift
i watch the neighbourhood cat
sitting on someone's window sill

he would not meet my eyes
his whiskers sense my resentment
he sits there haughty

he does not care about clocking
8 hours or recipes or food courts
he will be fed if he just meows

did i detect a wee smirk
on his face, a disdain in the yawn?
he sits there like a deity

people look at me funny
i miss the lift
the cat won, comfortably.



01/04/2013
**********




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2013