blursday

Blursday : n. a day of the week that is indistinguishable from any other.

I am sure the word was a prompt from one of the issues of Poets & Storytellers United. Just can't remember which date.

digital montage by dsnake1 with GIMP



blursday (7th apr to 1st june 2020)


1.
Thank god the internet is alive and well.
And Netflix.

The social media videos start to arrive.
They hiss like little forked tongues.

7.
The rebels arrive. A man with full body tattoos striped down to his underwear and strutted around the town neighbourhood waving his pants. Cops tried to tackle him. They had a hard time bringing him down. He was a good rugby player.

11.
spring cleaning -
our little histories.

17.
A nice dinner of stir fried cabbage with dried shrimps and fried pork collar with chillies helps a ton. Everybody loves it.

20.
More social videos : elderly lady is unleashing a whole range of vulgarities at two cops when confronted for not wearing a mask. The two cops are hesitant to tackle the lady. They know the internet is watching. Eagerly watching.

Some people are slipping into a rabbit hole.

22.
Thank god for youtube. There's a Japanese all-girl rock band that's driving the internet (and me) crazy.

23.
cherry blossoms -
looking at my photographs
of Japan

24.
Two blackbirds perch on my air-con unit and debate the pandemic.

25.
rain
///
the silence
in the house

27.
Tried fried udon with minced meat and everybody loves it.
Home-cooked pasta with meat sauce and everybody loves it.
Perhaps i can think about a career change.

28.
A dinner of yam rice with chinese sausages. Very basic.
But everybody loves it
Hmm, about that career change...

35.
overcast skies -
looking at your old photographs
                          again

40.
another morning
counting the meds
counting the videos

43.
nicked finger -

red fish gills
in a white sink

47.
a scent of lilac your floral blouse

50?
Home stretch.
Start counting the number of brands of beer i have drunk. Give up after the 11th and start rummaging in the fridge for one. Any brand.

56.
The end of blursdays
What day is today?

The family wants me to cook dinner.

(@.@)


318 words


written in response to a prompt
revised 06/12/2022
revised 02/07/2023
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BAND-MAID - Daydreaming

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2023

in the time of stillness

A tiny virus did all these. It was a strange time of empty streets during the lockdown, mandatory face masks and social distancing when outside...

photo by dsnake1



in the time of stillness


the city is standing still
it is learning a new language

the grass and weeds are allowed to grow
buttons, sages and mimosa poke heads out of concrete

butterflies show off their orange wings again
the stacked-up chairs at the cafe are lonely

the tower cranes have stop turning
the jackhammers retire to their sheds

you do not have a guy breathing down your neck
while you are placing a lottery bet

we have been the magpies
gleefully bathing in a puddle on a hot day
we have been the pigeons,
always hungry, pecking for food on asphalt

the language is new and strange
we gripe but are quietly learning.


02/05/2020
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A Perfect Circle - Imagine (cover of Lennon's song)

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2021

A diary of the lockdown

During the country's 56 days of the 'circuit breaker' lockdown I managed to keep a 'diary' of the event. There were opinions, rants, humour, pictures of my home-cooked meals, and short poetry. Below, I have chosen 5 short poetry from the period. If you want to read all the stuff, the whole nine yards, click HERE. It is a long read but should be interesting. 😁



A diary of the lockdown

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photo by dsnake1


Day 23


cherry blossoms -
looking at my photographs
of Japan


29/04/2020
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photo by dsnake1



Day 24

Two blackbirds perch on my air-con unit and debate the pandemic.


30/04/2020
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photo by chelle at morguefile


Day 43

nicked finger -

red fish gills
in a white sink


19/05/2020
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photo by dsnake1


Day 46

hi love we will get by

sometimes even manage
to squeeze in a pub
if not the sky and stars
                         above
will do.

Ain't it good to be alive.



undated, probably late 80's
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photo by dsnake1



Day 51

hospital waiting room -
another trip to the water cooler again.



27/05/2020
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Day 23 : No chance to go back there for a holiday.
Day 24 : An American sentence.
Day 43 : Really nicked my finger preparing food.
Day 46 : Recently found from my old journals. Pretty appropriate now.
Day 51 : I was at a hospital for a scan when i wrote this.

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Now that the lockdown is over, remember, places are opening because of the economy. Not because it is safe. Take care.

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2020

Day 20 Lockdown

Day 20 of 'circuit breaker' shutdown, Singapore.

no social distancing again!
photo by dsnake1



Day 20


This afternoon, around 2 p.m., I had to go out to pack some lunch. I know, today is a Sunday, but do everyone have to go out in the streets? There were so many private cars on the roads, a petrol station was parked full of vehicles. The bus I took for that short distance was quite packed. There were crowds at the supermarket at the mall. There were strollers talking on cell phones on the pavements.

Yesterday, I watched a video of a lockdown in Ireland on a literary website. How very contrasting the scenes over there and here. Not a single person in the empty streets, only a single running car in the entire video. And the words of the narrator :
"you see the empty football fields.., even the empty children's play parks, don't say to yourself, it looks like the end of the world, what you have seen is global action, what you have seen of those empty spaces is how much we do care for each other, how we care for the ground parks, for our brothers and sisters,....we care for people we never meet."

Yes, by staying home we do care for each other. So people, go out only when absolutely necessary. If by any indication, this lockdown here will be extended again. And I think all of us do not want that.


26/04/2020
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This is not a poem. Just a rant.
I am doing a day by day account of what I am doing (or not doing) during the lockdown. Dunno how long I will lose the interest. If you want to read from Day 1, please click HERE


© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2020