what are you doing tonight?

The night seems long, and there is no place to go.

photo of a Kyoto street by dsnake1



what are you doing tonight?


the half eaten dinner
is still in the styrofoam box
on the table

perhaps the rice is too sticky
maybe the cook had a bad day
like me

stub out the nth cigarette
sitting in the darkness listening
for a heartbeat

the blue curaco in a tall glass
with borzoi vodka and ice cubes
cools nerves

i light incense to her at the altar
call out her name, see the smoke
like farewells

i clean the dust and oil off
the gas hobs, as she had done
so many years

until the cold steel shines
and my sobs tremble and echo in
the silence

sitting in the quiet dark again
trying to figure out how the years
were wasted.

you will figure out surely
what you are doing tonight
the night answers

then i fire up the power amp
slip a disc into the player
sit back

and wait for Mark Knopfler
and his guitar to take us
to nirvana.


written lovingly 15/09/2007
revised slightly 23/08/2021
********************

---

Dire Straits - On Every Street

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2024

O

perhaps i have watched
one too many
japanese horror movies

- dsnake1, ^

digital sketch by dsnake1 with Sketchpad 5.1



O


in a darkened room
look into a mirror
at midnight,
              be afraid
              what is inside
              the glass
in the
reflection
              there is
              besides..

and the scream,
which is
not your own...


05/11/2013
**********


This is a repost, but why not get frightened again?

---

Poets of the Fall - Carnival of Rust

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2021

The New World

There was no internet then and the bright lights beckon..

photo by 272447 at pixabay



The New World
1960's


The old Sikh gatekeeper looked at our tickets with suspicion, he knew we were always trying to sneak in, but after that he gave us a toothy smile and waved us on.

We were wondering why the lady at the shooting gallery did not cut her fingers on all that broken glass but the little yellow metal ducks were all in a really bad shape.

Mick smuggled a stick into the Haunted Train Ride and afterwards told us that ghosts could scream in pain and swear bad words after he whacked one with the said stick.

Shan wanted an ice-cream, the seller was waving his bell like a magic wand, but there was really not enough cash amongst us, and i passed her my half bottle of soda.

At the bumper car rides, we watched the older boys and girls flirting with each other, their hands all over the place except the steering wheels and i held Shan's hand tighter.

In the dance hall, the women in their tight kerbayas were bored, waiting for the men to press a ticket to their hands, all the while the band was playing joget and cha-cha.

A light rain was falling on us, the night hastily gathering its clouds, the people shuffling to the exits, and the carousels and teacup rides stood empty in the dimming lights.


07/06/2020
**********

---

When I was a kid, my uncle brought me to this huge amusement park, full of lights and rides. "This is called the New World", he said, "Just what Columbus called when he discovered the Americas".

Of course Columbus didn't discover the Americas. But this New World near our home certainly had many interesting sights to explore. So me and my pals had spent many fun days and nights there.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2020

dark side of the moon, part #3

what an early morning walk through the neighbourhood can do to you...

photo by dsnake1



dark side of the moon, part #3


adjust your eyes to the night awhile. the long line of street lights, they are zombies coming out to play.

do not touch that empty plastic bag rolling, flailing across the zebra crossing. do you feel any wind?

no flowering trees around, but a scent of frangipani? and that lady just ahead, is she waiting for a taxi?



2018, or thereabouts
*****************

---

"ashes
swirling
swirling
at your
bare feet"

-dsnake1, glimpse

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2020

and all i see are wet petals on asphalt

"And the days are not full enough
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
         Not shaking the grass"

-- Ezra Pound

Osaka, Japan, at night
photo by dsnake1



and all i see are wet petals on asphalt


the train doors close
like a breath exhaling

and i slip out of the station
to an empty street

a cold wind blowing
and a long way from home



01/01/2020
**********

---

* “Where are the people?” resumed the little prince at last. “It’s a little lonely in the desert…”
"It is lonely when you’re among people, too,” said the snake. *

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince


Shared on Writers' Pantry #1 at Poets and Storytellers United.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2020

the darkness of the night

the darkness sometimes squeezes even the heart...

photo by Free-Photos at pixabay




the darkness of the night



i have walked the darkness of the night
walked these hard streets bearing pain.
my cigarette glows red and the moonlight

slicing blindly through the night's cold rain.
i look for love in the strangest places
all the miles, all the hunting are in vain.

in clubs and lanes where danger crouches
i scan for a face, a smile, your name
till the dawn pities me, i sleep in snatches.

awake again, pull a fag, flick a flame
the fear quietly bites, deadly as a krait
your face grows distant, frame by frame.

i have not come to terms with your flight
i will walk the darkness of the night.



17/04/2014
**********

Tried a structured verse. This is a terza rima, ending with a couplet. Sort of, I hope. This poem has been sitting in the hard drive for some time. Wonder why.

---

Dire Straits - Where Do You Think You're Going

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2019

echoes in the night

I wrote this for NaPoWriMo 2014. Urggh! Not many eyeballs there, so a re-post. The piece was inspired by a scary urban legend. Thought of reworking it. Decided not.

photo by Alvimann @ morguefile.com



echoes in the night


the distant thud of thunder
that might have been
the last beat of your heart

in the blackness of the room

only the ticking of the clock
the slow twitch of its luminous hands
grasping the hour of the night

a shade of ghastly green

and then quite clearly from the ceiling
tock//tock//tock
the sound of marbles dropping

but above that is only the rooftop...


08/04/2014
**********

is Halloween around the corner?

---

"is that a strand of hair brushing your face?"

-- dsnake1, -O-


To keep you company for the night : Uriah Heep - Echoes in the Dark

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2018

even surcharges are no incentives

I wrote this nonsense for NaPoWriMo 2013. I think no one read this piece of crap yet.

There was a time I was recalled back to work in the dead of night pretty frequently. Ah, the nightmares!

photo by dsnake1



even surcharges are no incentives



it's 5 a.m. +
a cold, lonely strip of road
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
**********


The original title of this piece was "early morning transport" but I thought it was a lousy title.

---

"and when the driver cracked a joke
about the government
the three of us laughed again
in the middle of the night."

-- dsnake1, night takes.



Shared on Poetry Pantry #242 at Poets United.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2015

the light

I have grown to love this poem. I wrote this originally in response to a prompt. It was about my life in a squatter colony when I was a child, where the home has no electricity or running water.

The "light" in the poem could refer to the physical light itself, and, as I realised later, it could be a metaphor for the values that our parents taught us, without which, my path could have been vastly different.

photo by xandert
image from morguefile.com



the light


you know,
the light from the single
pressure lamp in our hut
keeps the night at bay
keeps the barking dogs outside
the night

there is no tv, no radio
to distract my school work
except the light will dim
after a while
and dad will pump the lamp every hour
or so

to keep the kerosene flowing
feeding the flames,
and mum joins me at
the only table
mending a dress with what squares of fabric
she has

while dad reads the day's papers
crumpled and smudged
from passing through
many hands
while outside in the village the dogs
still bark.



written 09/02/10
revised 09/09/10
*****************

---

“There is a crack in everything.
That's how the light gets in.”

― Leonard Cohen, Selected Poems, 1956-1968



Shared on Poetry Pantry #228 at Poets United.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014

night takes

In the course of my work, sometimes I am recalled back to the office to attend to some emergency or unreasonable request. Usually these calls come right smack in the middle of the night, and then your next day is totally ruined.

The second stanza of this poem is a complete rewrite from the original. If you want to read the original, it's here.

image from  imageafter.com




night takes


1.

When i boarded the taxi the driver
was happy that there is someone
at 2 a.m. to chat with,
and he laughed when i replied
that i was going to work.
On the dashboard was a figurine of
a roly-poly laughing buddha
and when the driver cracked a joke
about the government
the three of us laughed again
in the middle of the night.


2.

Maybe it was the fluorescent lights
the glare cold and efficient
but 3 a.m. is not a good time to work.
You thought a shadow moved
among the racks and cables
when you know you were all alone
so when the phone rang and a voice
at the other end called your name
you looked again at the shadows.


3.

Thank God for 7-Elevens
when you needed a nicotine fix
at 5 a.m. in the morning.
The store clerk looked up
with undisguised disdain
when i stepped in from the warm night,
unruly hair, bloodshot eyes, bad breath.
It was not exactly friendly or inspiring,
even the door chime sounded angry.




written 25/11/2006
revised 28/02/2014
******************

---

“How did it get so late so soon?”
-- Dr. Seuss



Shared on Poetry Pantry #191 at Poets United.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014

NightSky*Stars

This is one of the older poems I wrote a long time ago. It is also one of my favourites.

image from WikiPaintings



NightSky*Stars




     What myriad secrets you hold up there
     we can only boldly guess.
     Your mysteries, time locked
     & unwilling yet to share.

What light i saw
could have been born a billion years before

You are ancient legends, retold over glowing fires,
domains of the gods, we are told.
In time, as we grew wiser,
we dared, we probed your dark canvas.

Your depth, i could not fathom
the immense distance you span.
If i could live a million reincarnations,
i guess i could not traverse you from end to end.

Tonight, on such a cold night,
in a miniscule niche on a blue planet,
as i lift my eyes to the vastness above,
the stars, they speak to me in lights of life.

     from worlds so distant
     from voices so ancient

ashes to earth to life to earth to ashes
trilobites in shale, archaeopteryx in stone
Beatles on wax, memories in silicon brains
man chasing gold chasing dreams chasing fame

now what light i saw
could have been me a billion years before.



*** written DEC 1987 ***
* slightly revised 12/10/2013 *

---

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson


Shared on Poetry Pantry #172 at Poets United.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2013

The Light

I wrote this last year in response to a prompt.

When I was a child, my family and I lived in a squatter colony where there was no electricity or running water. This prompt brings me back to those times, and to write about something we all take for granted, the electric light. Or rather, the absence of it..

I am posting this for Thursday Poets Rally Week 55.




photo by singhajaykr25 
image from morguefile.com



the light



you know,
the light from the single
pressure lamp in our hut
keeps the night at bay
keeps the barking dogs outside
the night

there is no tv, no radio
to distract my school work
except the light will dim
after a while
and dad will pump the lamp every hour
or so

to keep the kerosene flowing
feeding the flames,
and mum joins me at
the only table
mending a dress with what squares of fabric
she has

while dad reads the day's papers
crumpled and smudged
from passing through
many hands
while outside in the village the dogs
still bark.



written 09/02/10
revised 09/09/10
*****************

---

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

-- Dylan Thomas

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2011

Hot Night

I have been missing for some time, the past few weeks were pretty hectic. I couldn't come out with something new, so here's a piece from my old days. The style is quite different from what I am writing now. (I guess that's called evolution) :)

I am posting it anyway, warts and pimples and all.



photo © bhailu7
image from morguefile.com

Hot Night!


Blank thoughts on a blank sheet
Yes, I had lots to write.
I stumbled, I grumbled, but again I will try.
My luck, it seems, had run dry.
Just lost a bundle yesterday night.
Things seem pretty bad these few days.
Might break my heart, make me die.

As I am sitting at this dining table
Trying to write the story of my life
This damn mosquito darted across my eyes
I dug my nose, maybe the darn insect has got inside.
The freaking weather got humid and warm again,
The breeze had stopped, as sudden as it came.
The temperature had got around playing games

Guess i would better switch on the fan.
(now, where's that damn knob)
Lie down and get some sleep.
(Hey! What's that wailing across the block?)

11:50 p.m.
06.03.1983
**********



© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

Did you hear chalk screeching on the blackboard?
I will try to post some new stuff soon. :)

NightSky and Stars

Here's something I wrote some time ago, and posted here before. It's one of my personal favourites.

I know, another re-post.



photo by Daniele Musella
image from morguefile.com




NightSky and Stars



      What myriad secrets you hold up there
      we can only boldly guess
      Your mysteries, time locked
      & unwilling yet to share.

What light i saw
could have been born a billion years before

you are ancient legends, retold over glowing fires
domains of the gods, we are told.
In time, as we grew wiser,
we dared, we probed your dark canvas.

Your depth, i could not fathom
the immense distance you span.
If i could live a million reincarnations,
i guess i could not traverse you from end to end.

Tonight, on such a cold night,
in a miniscule niche on a blue planet,
as i lift my eyes to the vastness above,
the stars, they spoke to me in lights of life.

On this planet, spinning, are we.
Solar Planetary System, #3

      ashes to earth to life to earth to ashes
      trilobites in shale, archaeopteryx in amber
      Beatles on wax, memories in silicon brains
      man chasing gold chasing dreams chasing fame

now what light i saw
could have been me a billion years before.

*** DEC 1987 ***


© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

February kukai : Night Life

The theme or phrase in Haikuworld's February 2008 kukai in the Free Format Section was "Night Life". I sent in an entry and I managed a total of... 1 point.

I thought writing about night life was a piece of cake... :)





image by dsnake1


Night Life

neon lit pavement
click of stiletto heels
on hard concrete



And here's another three that I wrote but didn't submit.


i.

early morning rain.
traffic lights flickered
at empty road junction.


ii.

moon veiled by clouds
bats fluttered down from viaducts
looking for fruits.


iii.

last night bus
pulls out of terminus.
i try to catch some sleep.


© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

nights on a thin mattress

This is the 2nd poem of my collection I submitted to the GPA poetry competition.

This poem is about the time I was staying at a rented flat in Bukit Merah. It was crowded, but it was fun, and we were never short of arguments.


photo by Dyet
image from morguefile.com

nights on a thin mattress



there are, how many?
eight, nine people in the flat,
packed, but what to do,
at least got roof over head.
we don't have many places to go,
besides it's troublesome outside,
cops call you over
because they don't like your face.
so we just talk, bum cigarettes
turn on the half gone tv,
if nothing in the box then
roll out our thin mattresses
try to catch some sleep.

sometimes maybe 2 am,
there are sounds of breaking glass,
shouts, taunts, bad language.
some stupid drunks downstairs
at the coffeeshop
are playing muay thai.
we come out to the corridor,
shirtless in the hot night,
see if blood is spilt.
then some hothead from upstairs
would lean over the parapet screaming,
nabeh, shut the fuck up
i am coming down with a knife.

and the night is all peaceful again.

written 24.06.06
revised 17.07.07
****************
© dsnake1

Repost : Rain&Night

Tied down by work this week, so I will make do with a repost. And I will be taking a short break from blogging again. :)


photo by ronnieb
image from morguefile.com


Rain&Night



lightning roll lazily across the night sky
     like bad fluorescence,
the sky, blushing palely then,
meets this sudden outburst of light
like startled lovers
     & blushes again.

the rain, beating its sleep song on apartment blocks,
     lashes on plastic awnings,
grime caked walls, as
a bamboo of clothes fluttered on one high floor
forlorn, defeated.

down below on the playground
     devoid of children,
no sounds of taunts, laughter
but the drum roll of thunder.
the metal slides, the ladders, the rusted monkey rails,
like exposed fossilized bones of beasts long gone,
     thrusting out of rock.

a wet mongrel , growling
     lurches across this wastescape
its howl, a puny protest
against the thunder
     that rocked across the sullen night sky...


9.10 pm, 15-Nov-1977
revised 28-Sep-2005
© dsnake1
*******************

Night Takes

In my line of work, sometimes it entails going back to the workplace in the dead of night. It's dreary, but there are bills to pay.

Not too satisfied with this piece, finding it difficult to write this week.



image by dsnake1


Night Takes


1

When i boarded the taxi the driver
was happy that there is someone
at 2 a.m. to chat with,
and he laughed when i replied
that i was going to work.
On the dashboard was a figurine of
a roly-poly laughing buddha
and when the driver cracked a joke
about the government
the three of us laughed again
in the middle of the night.


2.


The voice at the other end of the line
was sleepy as he waited for me
to hook up the test sets to measure
the health of a data link.
I asked him why the urgency,
that it needed to interrupt my dreams,
and he said this was for an ATM machine.
i didn't buy the crap, so what, who's
gonna punch out cash in the dead of night?


3.

Thank God for 7-Elevens
when you needed a nicotine fix
at 5 a.m. in the morning.
The store clerk looked up
with undisguised disdain
when i stepped in from the warm night,
unruly hair, bloodshot eyes, bad breath.
It was not exactly friendly or inspiring,
even the door chime sounded angry.


25.11.06
********