a haiku

Father's Day

image by dsnake1



a haiku


missing dad -
sandpapering rust
off his old tool box.



20/06/2021
**********


the haiku is old but it is one of my favourites and i am posting it today.

---

I remember my dad as a stocky, muscular man, as he works in the construction industry as a carpenter and a foreman. I follow him for a couple of weeks working on a house for a wealthy pig farmer, and I know how tough the work can be. Yet his Chinese calligraphy is very elegant and beautiful, and bold. The people at the clan house would request him to write notices and wedding invitations.

He is a very quiet man, does not say much. When as a child, I got into scraps with other kids, he would just dress my wounds, and not ask anything. He is quite unfazed by anything, except when he once asked me what I was doing with a gang in Newton (I wasn't), and the news of Kennedy's assassination. He has passed on, at a relatively young age, and when I needed strength, I would think of him.

---

© 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
**********************

---

photo by dsnake1



Day 51

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



27/05/2020
**********


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.

---

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

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2020

Haiga inspired by a video game

Last year, I wrote a series of haiga inspired by a video game, Grand Theft Auto V, at my other blog. The images were all screen captures from the game using a game console. It was pretty fun doing the project, sometimes the words just popped out, like right on the screen.

If you look beyond the gore, the bad language (the f*** word is in almost every line) and that you are playing the roles of 3 very psychopathic "heroes", it is a very good game. Perhaps you do not understand what I am talking? Never mind. Enjoy the haiga. ☮



haiga inspired by a video game

the flies have left
the blood has dried on the linoleum

thunderhead over rooftops -
my heart
heavy again.

the end
of another day.
a million murmurs

on the wind your name

shuffling feet
the night shift clocks in





__________ ☢ __________

Click on the image for a larger view.
If you want to see the whole nine yards (12 haiga) click here.


All images by dsnake1 generated by a game console using a game disc and edited by PaintShop Pro software.

---

"I'm still alive, in case you're wondering."
-- Michael de Santa, one of the protagonist in the game


Grand Theft Auto V is a copyrighted video game developed and published by Rockstar Games.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2018

peace

Recently, I came across a video of a youth orchestra and choir. And in those young earnest faces, I wish to see the hopes of the coming year. Not a kid cradling a kalashnikov in some ruined town, or one begging for food in some urban slum. 2017's path has been lined with bramble and bracken. We fight beasts with puny weapons. Lies are taken as truths. This has been the terror of uncertain days. One more mistake. Just one more! The Pinball Machine tilts! And it is game over, no reset buttons, no credit slots.

Have a safe and peaceful 2018, friends!

digital drawing by dsnake1, with pencilmadness




peace




the dawn light lands on my face and slides across the worn linoleum floor.

peace.


29/12/2017
**********

here's another preamble that's longer than the poem. :)

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"Help me, Goddess, to be the always hopeful..."

-- dsnake1, prayer

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2017

Tampines Bike Park

I am sorry to see it go. This bike park is the only place near my home where we can do off-road riding. So two weeks back I was there to get some long due trail riding when the security told me the park is closing its gates for good in two days time, on the 15th of September. A new town of housing blocks will be built over the land.

In the past years I have regularly gone there to improve my skills in off road cycling. I am still a lousy rider. I have left some skin many times on those gravel and stones. But for those looking for an adrenalin fix (or just for some plain exercise) it is a good place to go. I like the challenge of man and machine against nature.

I am going to miss this place. Cycling in a public park and a trail are different. I will miss the challenge and unpredictability of the latter. So before the place is totally transformed, I took some pictures with my cell phone. The quality is not so good though. Oh yes, it also inspired the haiku (and a tanka, sort of) that accompany the photos. :)



Tampines Bike Park

one of the few trees not zapped by lightning.



evening-
the birds return to the tree tops
to gossip.

elephant grass in the sunset



i think of days
in the tall grass with rifles.

the sunset is brief
it could be longer.

and then the croaking of toads.

a much needed rest after a ride



defying physics-
alloy tubes, rubber and leg power
over mud and gravel.

night is falling
all photos by dsnake1


the moon
trapped in those branches
sighs and sleeps



28/09/2014
**********

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Get out and get some play.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014

toilet talk

Rats! What an awful week. Things don't work right at work. It had not rained for weeks (okay, it rained yesterday and today). The haze is back, thick and troublesome. Think I will post a little joke here. Jokes can't go wrong, I suppose?

image by dsnake1, done with pencilmadness




toilet talk


I was at a men's restroom in a bowling alley, doing my you-know-what business, when i heard the guy in the next cubicle said, "Hello, how are you?"

Thinking that the man was just trying to be friendly, I replied, slightly embarrassed, "Okay, i'm fine."

Then he continued : "So, what are you doing now?"

I tell you, I'm not used to carrying on a conversation while shitting. But just not to offend him, I said "Ahh, I'm into software" (which was quite correct at that moment).

It was really getting a bit uncomfortable for me at this point. Then he tossed another question., "Can I come over?"

This one was really sudden and kinky, I mean I am really lost. I was really nervous now, but quickly replied, "NO. I'm eh, sort of busy now.."

There was a short pause, a nervous cough, and the guy saying, a bit agitated..
"Look, I'll call you back later. There's an idiot in the other cubicle who keeps answering all my questions!"




P.S. I made this up , of course I wasn't there. I read of this joke somewhere, maybe some of you guys had already come across it.

I promise to be back with a poem the next time.

---

And a haiku to end the day...


cellphone



crisis day in the office.
my cellphone rings -

wrong number.

---

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014

red

On the last day of this month is the Chinese New Year. And I have barely started preparing for it. For starters, there is the annual spring cleaning of the home. Then there will be trips to the malls and supermarkets to get new clothes, food and drinks. Knowing me, it will be all very last-minute running around again.

To the Chinese, red is an auspicious colour. In the New Year, red will be everywhere, in every household, in the clothes we wear, the food, the decorations, hongbaos, flowers, and greeting cards.

So yes, a short poem, a haiku (what's better than an eastern poetry form for the occasion?) and then it's off for the holidays!

scan of a greeting card



red




            red
the colour of your lips
         in spring





26/01/2014
**********

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萬事如意

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2014

pussyfoot

Something old. Memories and blog post and me. Sorry, no poem (maybe a haiku).

photo by imelenchon
image from morguefile.com



pussyfoot




Pussyfoot

The word just popped into my mind while I was having my tea at the coffeeshop today. Maybe it was the cat padding around under the tables. Maybe I have turned soft and nostalgic. Whatever the trigger, the word brought back a flood of memories.

I was young then, just out of the army and looking for a way to survive. I took on this job at a nightclub in Geylang, waiting on tables and serving drinks. It was a real sleazy place; triads, loan sharks, con-men. And a floor show that even the hardened mamasans blushed at. The management had advised, keep your eyes open, and your mouth shut and you should be fine. So the first day at work, someone ordered "pussyfoot", and I sort of went "huh?", what the heck was that?

I went to the counter, repeated the word as I remembered (which wasn't too difficult), and the bartender nonchalantly poured out something as if that was the most ordinary thing in the world. In my vocabulary at that time, drinks meant beer, brandy, whisky and rum, you know, the hard stuff.

Turned out a pussyfoot is a non-alcoholic concoction of a few fruit juices served chilled. I also found out that it was indeed the most ordinary thing in the club, a favourite with the ladies. Nice to sip with, and nowhere near potent enough to be knocked out, so the men couldn't take advantage of them. Of course the men wouldn't be seen dead with that drink, heavens! They want stuff that is a bit stiff.

The tips were good, those people there threw money around like water. I came to work with a few coins in my pockets, and went home with a fistful of notes. The management had warned, do not pocket tips yourself, but I was young and brash then, and everybody else was doing it, to hell with the rules. It was good money. The tobacco smoke was another matter.

It's amazing, what a word, buried in the deep recesses of the memory, can somehow surfaced and brings back a train of images...



18/02/2006
**********




neon

neon
splashing on my face

with the rain


09/11/2013
**********

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I promise to be back with a poem next time, not this, uh, stuff.



Shared on Poetry Pantry #175 at Poets United.

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2013

Haiku Challenge - A Haiku A Day

image by dsnake1, done with pencilmadness





I have completed the prompts at A Haiku A Day to write, well, a haiku a day, for the month of October. Almost made it intact. Missed some days due to insane office workloads (old excuse, but true).

If you want to read the stuff, it's at my other blog, i write too. Click here for the lot.
Please feel free to tell me how it is.







© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2013

about haiku

This is an essay about haiku. I hope.




image from visipix.com


what i have learned about haiku



I started writing English haiku only recently, maybe about five or six years back when I started sending in stuff to the monthly shiki at haikuworld.org. I said stuff because what I wrote then, on retrospect, was not really haiku, maybe some words worked into 3 lines and seventeen syllables.

So after climbing a learning curve, read some really good haiku from some blogs, websites and books, and writing some myself ( I mean really write), I have come to see haiku in a different light. What was once I thought for kids and word-blocked writers (hey, what's so difficult about a three line poem?) was something not easy to fathom. It is like fencing in the dark.

This is what I have learned so far, about haiku in English:

A haiku in Japanese is usually written in 3 groups of syllables (5-7-5), 17 syllables in all. This is pretty rigid in Japanese. In English, it is not wrong to write in 17 syllables (following the rules), but usually, only 10 to 12 syllables are the norm.This is something to do with diphthongs, which I will not explain because it will get me into a tangle.

A haiku is about the present, thus it is always written in the present tense. It is concerned about a single happening.

Avoid metaphors and similes. Words like "as" or "like a" should not be used in haiku, because what you intend to say will be associated with something else.

I have learned something very basic about haiku from fellow bloggers and haiku maestros. One very good haiku writer told me these words : "Show, don't tell." Don't tell the reader what to feel. Tell the image instead, let the reader interpret and feel in his own imagination. Don't say, "how happy!" Show what is happy. This is the mantra that I repeat to myself when I start on a haiku.

There are not many words you can squeeze into a haiku. Thus there are some words that should be dropped. Most adjectives, adverbs, long bombastic words. No emotional words like "beautiful" and "horrible". Leave that to the reader. Avoid "I" since you don't need to show what you are feeling.

Haiku is about experiences. Do not overlook the seemingly small details. That said, it does not mean that an older person is a better haiku writer than say, a very young one. Children can write very good haiku too.

remember the 3 lines :
image
image
event.

That's about all that I can think of at this moment. If you, dear reader, has anything to share, feel free to leave your comments..

As William J Higginson wrote in his very excellent book The Haiku Handbook, "the central act of haiku is letting an object or event touch us, and then sharing it with another."

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Here are some examples from the masters:

on a bare branch
a crow has settled...

       autumn evening

- Basho (1644 - 1694)


sick on a journey -

dreams wander on
over dried up fields.

- Basho



by a winter river
forsaken, a dog's
         carcass!

- Masaoka Shiki (1867 - 1902)



in the toy pail
at low tide        floats
the still ferris wheel


- Cor van den Heuvel

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And now, (not from a master), an urban haiku :


day moon at first light.

the street lamps
hesitate to switch off


- dsnake1



Shared on Poetry Pantry #167 at Poets United.

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2013

Haiku Heights September Challenge

I took part in Haiku Heights' September Challenge, writing a haiku a day for the whole month. All the poems are posted at my other blog, "i write too". It has been a great experience, and I have come out with some good ones (in my opinion). Also, I have come across some great and talented poets in the course of the challenge.

It's time for a break. If you, dear readers, are interested, click on the drop-down menu to access the poems. Or, you can read the whole lot here, at i write too. Happy reading!

The Height of Haiku Challenge

Please choose Day 1 : Write Day 2 : Mirror Day 3 : Windmill Day 4 : Singer Day 5 : Flourish Day 6 : Kiss Day 7 : Hypnotic Day 8 : Hidden Day 9 : Yearn Day 10 : Magic Day 11 : [] [] Day 12 : Moon Day 13 : Liberty Day 14 : Elixir Day 15 : Patience Day 16 : Chime Day 17 : Winter Day 18 : Home Day 19 : Bold Day 20 : Feather Day 21 : Bubbles Day 22 : Bullseye Day 23 : Water Day 24 : Lost Day 25 : Cold Day 26 : Phoenix Day 27 : Poise Day 28 : Charm Day 29 : Rhythm Day 30 : Geylang

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2011

Poets' Rally Week 48 Perfect Poet Award

I am so happy to be nominated for this Perfect Poet award. Though I am far from perfect, I will strive to be, so I will grab the award anyway. :)

Thanks, Promising Poets' Poetry Cafe, for all this support and encouragement, and thanks, Ravenblack, for nominating me. :)





And to go with the award, here's a haiku I wrote which is one of my personal favourites...



Rust


missing dad.

sandpapering rust
off his old tool box.




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2011

Loss

I wrote and submitted this haiku for the January Free Format kukai at haikuworld. The subject was "Loss".

The results are out and this ku managed a total of ...two votes. Well, at least two readers like it. :)

photo by Alexas_Fotos at pixabay




loss



anniversary -

your photograph
greasy with my prints.


11/01/2011
**********





© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2011

spring

I wanted to post this on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and this is the 5th day already...

scan from a greeting card



Spring



spring-

a wind chime
sings



03/02/2011
**********

恭喜發財




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

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

colours

I wanted to enter haikuworld's Special January 2009 "Toku" kukai in honour of William J. Higginson. The theme was "Colours" or the name of a colour. I missed the deadline by a couple of days.

I wondered how my works would have fared if I had sent them in. :)


photo by DHester
image from pixelperfectdigital.com


colours

rainbow

rainbow.
a child plays
with a box of crayons

lips

first kiss -
her lips
red as flames

shrapnel

a truck backfires.
blackbirds scattered
         like shrapnel


© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) ¥

haiku : autumn

This was my entry for haikuworld's November kukai. The theme for the Free Format kukai was "Everyday People".

Okay, the haiku didn't do too well, nobody voted for it. :) But I am posting it anyway, since I am running out of words.


photo by Kettu
image from morguefile.com


autumn


falling autumn leaves.
an old man dozes
on a park bench.




And another one I didn't send in..


a mother kisses her baby
in the bus.
love in the city.


08/11/2008
**********


© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

tombstone

The theme or phrase in Haikuworld's September 2008 kukai in the Free Format section was "any type of Rock or Stone".

This was the entry I submitted. It attracted a total of ... 2 votes. Oh well, better luck next try. :)



photo by DHester
image from pixelperfect

tombstone


fading gold paint
on her name carved in marble.
September day.


13.09.08
********



This one, I didn't send in.

wild flower peeps
from crevice in concrete.
good morning.

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

1908

This was supposed to be an entry for haikuworld's June Kukai in the Free Format category. The theme was "SECRETS". Before I knew it, it was past the deadline. So I will just post it here. Wonder how many points it can get. :)

On second thought, maybe it's a good idea not to send it in.


image from wikipedia

1908


nightfall in Tunguska
the wind whispers
to the trees

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

a weekend at Batam

I spent the last weekend on the Indonesian island of Batam. The island is just slightly larger than Singapore, and only about 20 plus kilometers away.

With just such a short distance away, and an hour's ride on a high-speed ferry, it's like visiting your backyard. Just maybe a decade back, it is quite a backwaters place. But times are changing.

Batam is an island riding on the wave of development. Though there are still huge tracts of forests and vegetation around, you cannot miss the power pylons and transmission lines that are everywhere. And the base stations for cell phone communications, and antennae and satellite dishes sprouting from every roof like metallic head-wear.



photo and image by dsnake1


It was a trip back in time when I visited the lazy, laid-back village at Bagam on Sunday. The corrugated zinc roofs, the un-plastered walls of cinder blocks, some with paint jobs that are like afterthoughts. The scruffy children playing in the dust under the hot sun, begging you for another camera shot.

It was just like stepping back into the village in Singapore where I grew up as a child. The only reminders that you are back in the modern world are the TV antennae, poking out from every roof, a couple of SUVs in the backyards, cloth-lines of jeans, skirts, pajamas and some g-strings strung out to dry in the sun.



hello, world!


catching the breeze
trees and antennae.
winds of change

© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 )

too bad about the poor quality of the photo, it's either the camera or the photographer. had to photoshop it a bit. :)