the pub singer

I tried to write something cheerful, the Lunar New Year is but a week away. But the work in the office is still crazy, plus there's still loads of spring-cleaning to do around the house. There's not much time left to write.

There's always the archives to fall back on though. This is a poem that I have posted in this blog a few years back. I did some editing to it, and here it is.

photo by taliesin
image from morguefile.com

the pub singer
unnamed pub, taipei


in the noisy pub
the babble dropped
to a whisper
as the first strains
of the
plucked strings
drifted through
the smoke
and neon
of the hall

and then that
crystal voice
like a plea
out of a void

the pub singer,
she was there,
in the centre
of the stage,
lit up like a store display
under pools of pink
and orange lights

she sat on a high stool
plucking away on a guitar,
plucking our heartstrings
as she sang of love
and wanderings
and olive trees at home,
her oval face and
bob cut hair haloed in neon,
rounded hips tight in denim jeans

i asked a waitress
what was the singer's name
she said these girls are like
blooms from trees
and i thought
in my country
she would be a star.

06/03/06
revised 23/01/2010
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To all my Chinese readers, a Happy and Prosperous Lunar New Year!

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )