July 4, 2008

...

wintry sidewalk -
that lamb grafitti
everywhere...

...

Tango in Paris -
his breath, warm
on my parted lips.


softness of her satin dress
on my inner thigh

...

crowded bus
coughing and wheezing
the man behind me -
stroking
my grandma's locket.

July 1, 2008

...

summer garden -
winding path framed
with golden showers

...

reading my book
the pup presses its ball
on my book
again.

June 27, 2008

...

sunny gardens
the sparrow's tweet
answers a child's laughter.

Beijing 2008

new Olympics stadium
the homeless man
adjusts his tent.

...

cyclone aftermath...
a lone dog
with its shadow.

...

rotten pineapple -
street kids
chasing soccer dreams

...

taking time to smell the bergamot in my earl grey.

...

wedding banquet -
the stubborn cork
shatters the champagne fountain.

...

silted pond
white lotus
leaning over...just a bit...

...

new owner -
the old dog lumbering after
its fetch ball.

...

empty beachside bar...
palm fronds stretching
towards storming skies.

...

mountain train crossing -
the coldness of steel
on my finger-tips.

...


October dusk -
my mutt and me
on the empty fields

June 4, 2008

...

noon tide out
fiddler crab raises
its battle claw

June 2, 2008

...

white surf nibbling across summer bay

...

Summer hillslope
the moan of the wind
in my ears

Pulau Ubin

island landing -
a welcome gift
from the mosquito

Chek Jawa

Buddha under
the mangrove tree
How painful!

May 28, 2008

...

Senryu: "a playful verse (zareku) that comments on human behaviours, virtues and vices, noble and base emotions, thoughts of upper- and lower-class people, and all the other matters that make up this life on earth." - Ogawa Akimichi in Light Verse, Ueda Makoto ed.

May 26, 2008

Sungei Buloh senryu

teeth glinting:
lady at the park cafe
charges me double

Kranji

old barracks
ventilation fan
still turning

Sungei Buloh

camera flash-
the monitor lizard
shifts its weight.

April 30, 2008

Morning rush hour

morning sun
into the packed train
dust specks drifting

MBA iv

interview room -
waiting in turn
reading my haiku

Rainy day in the car

Rush hour monsoon -
Red blobs floating
down the highway

...

Thinking of him…
I look up
and smile at him.

Morning at the office

round the corner -
a face
like my own

...

Morning snail
crossing the path;
its wetness extending

Clementi carpark

early dusk returning crows calling.. calling..

Château de Cheverny

Midsummer afternoon -
Red roses resting
on their shadows

...

ANOTHER STAGE OF MY LIFE
Barely second day into my new job, I was washing my old mug, which I had brought over from my old office, Sydney, in the washroom when it slipped out of my hand, hit the sink and smashed into four pieces. Stunned, the first thing that crossed my mind was that the mug had accompanied me throughout my 3.5 years of working life in Sydney, and how in an instance, this old mug and all it symbolised, have departed from me. As I bent over to pick up the broken bits of porcelain, I thought: now I have made a clean break with the past and not brought along any baggage as I step into this new stage of my career.


new workplace
my old mug
broke

...

Rainy evening -
the puppy
scratches its side

...

midday heat -
taking turns
to slurp the ice ball

Hanoi

Hanoi street
cars tooting
in rhythm

Dusk on Halong Bay
Old Viet junks
playing techno

...

Customs terminal -

Out of the bus

passengers tumbling