quarrel

This is a very old poem from my journals. I took it out and edited it a bit. It is one of my favourites, as it never fails to bring back the memories.



photo by jzlomek
image from morguefile.com




quarrel

like a rush
of arctic wind
that scuttles over
a winter pond
dusting hoarfrost on reeds,
we sat, stiff , cold
as strangers

no words, no words pass between us today.
no words, no words she said.



revised 07/12/08
****************


© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

the last man

Are you feeling chilly, do you jump at the slightest movement of shadows? Here's a story from my NS days during basic military training.

Though the Chinese 7th Month, also known as the "Ghost Month", is over, I think it's still okay to post this.

I will try to get back to some serious writing after this. The work in the office is really getting crazy. :)


photo by Miyabi
image from morguefile.com



the last man
stop looking back.


The night over Tekong was unforgiving. Starless, tar black, bloated clouds threatening rain. Our patrol was trying to make its back to camp. In that tube of darkness that was the jungle trail, we could not see our palms if we had held them in front of our faces. No torchlights, no cigarettes, no zippos, our drill sergeant had warned. We had to trust the point man and his topographic skills. Walking in a single file, holding on to the webbing of the man in front, we inched forward like a wounded caterpillar.

Somehow we made it back, and as we straggled into the lights of the camp, my buddy came up to me, his voice highly agitated, and demanded to know why back there on the trail, i kept pulling his SBO and calling his name. Bemused, I told him I was at the front of the file, and did not do those things he said. I also reminded him that he had volunteered to be the last man in the patrol. And then his face turned a ghostly shade of white..

moonless night
white moth flies in
and rests on his bed.


23.08.08
********


© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

evening bus home

This piece kicked off my NaPoWriMo month of madness.

It was already evening and I was telling myself, hey, there's less than 6 hours before the deadline and there's still no poem yet, and no idea what to write. I work best under pressure, or the muse took pity on me. In less than half an hour, I have this.:)

For this post, there are some slight revisions done to the original.


photo by kevin connors
image from morguefile.com



evening bus home


in the bus
we look like
soldiers back
from battle

fatigued
indifferent
some guy massaging
his head

a cough here
a cellphone rings
amidst the drone
of travel

a shuffle of feet
the beeps
of electronic cards
on readers

i try
not to be
distracted
by all these

as the sky
turns
a nasty shade
of grey

i have only
15 stops
or so
before home.


01/04/2009
revised 28/06/2009
**********

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2009

janice

Alright, I am still up to the nose with work, and I have survived a week (or two) of the flu, so I have to dig another one from the NaPoWriMo archives. This one is from the 14th day. Some slight revision done. I even throw in a drawing I have done. :)

This is the first dance I ever had, that's why it sort of stays in the mind. :)



image by dsnake1



janice


always
that dance
      it plays
      all over
like a jammed vinyl
      when i hear
      that song
in a store
the train the radio
though it has been
almost
     a lifetime
since
we left
and still
like a bridge
across time
      i see
just the two
of us
though there are others
on the dance floor
      my hand
on your slim waist
your warm body
close to mine
a hint
of heady
perfume

and me
trying very hard
not to step
      on your shoes.

14/04/09
revised 23/06/09




If you want to compare the original poem, it's here

The picture is a scan of a pencil drawing on paper which was done a long time ago.

words and image © cheong lee san, 2009

interrupted dream

I am up to my nose with work so I am digging out some stuff from my NaPoWriMo 2009 archives.

I am leaving it unedited. I went through it but the mind wasn't working too hard and I decided to leave it as it is.



photo by DTL
image from morguefile.com



interrupted dream




at 3 a.m.
i woke up
to raindrops
scattering
into the room
chased by a
wolfhound wind
a sky
red with anger

and
an interrupted dream.

23/04/09



© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2009

umbrella

This was an entry for haikuworld's May kukai in the Free Format category. The theme was "Umbrella".

It managed to get a total of...one ( 1 ) point. :)



photo by impure-with-memory
image from morguefile.com


umbrella



summer rain
dancing on umbrellas-

       our heartbeats



May 2009
========


© cheong lee san, 2009

NaPoWriMo 2009 (final part, sort of)

If you ask me in early March, I would say that it's crazy, I won't do NaPoWriMo. 30 poems in 30 days? Hey, sometimes I struggle to post one in two weeks.

And here I am, at the finishing line, 30 pieces in 30 days. I am not sure what pushed me at the end of March (madness perhaps) to take part, but I decided to see how far I can run. And boy, it sure was pretty far.

And looking back, I quite enjoyed the run too. Some of the poems, in my opinion, are not too bad either. Best of all, I have a ready library that, when I run out of stuff to post, I can dig one out to use. :)


photo by ppdigital
image from morguefile.com


So here's the rest to complete the list :


NaPoWriMo #30 - going home

NaPoWriMo #29 - gangster movie

NaPoWriMo #28 - movie

NaPoWriMo #27 - owl

NaPoWriMo #26 - sparrow


And for those masochists who want to read the whole lot, click here!. :)

© cheong lee san, 2009