The taming of his black cat

He began with a name,
It was a simple concept,
An assured attribute,
Unique to only him,
Something only he will respond to,

Then came the fried fish,
Some were leftovers,
Some were specially bought,
But the single most important quality,
Was that the fish is there every day,
Not a single day missed,
Signalling a bounding commitment,
Between an old man and a generation of black cats.

And so they were there everyday,
And will be there in the coming days,
Taking turns waiting for one another,
With a silent acknowledging nod they came,
And with a trailing gaze they left.

And as I sat there motionless,
Separate from their contract of fishes and names,
I came to see that they are a genuine sketch of honesty,

The one and only way for black and white to come together.

The superior, venerable balance

Each step you take, takes a toll on you,
Each breath you breathe, takes a toll on you,
Each swing of your hand,
Each road you crossed,
Each corner you turn,
Each pills you take,
And each doctors you see,
They all took a toll on you,

But you kept stepping,
Kept breathing,
Kept swinging your hands,
Kept crossing the roads,
Kept turning the corners,
Kept taking the pills,
And kept seeing the doctors,
Hid all the pain and grimaces behind your conversations,

And I want you to know that you are immortal,
That all your efforts are worth it,

Especially to those who deserve it.

A simple, paralyzed "thank you"

The only thing you can move is your mouth,
And the only words you can say is thank you,
Today you heaved heavy breaths just to say it twice,
Doubling over your gift to the world,

And that makes you irreplaceable,
Not for the strangers you smiled to,
Not for the ones who loved you,
Not for the ones you've taught to love,
So pace the world with pride,
Even in your wheelchair,
Even in bones that no longer work,
Because you understood things that most don't,
And because despite all your frailties,
You carry the qualities,
That defines God's most wonderful creation.

Thank you for that,
Please have a rest,
Because you should.

Pertimbangan dari fulkrum yang berkarat

Pukul 7 petang, dan Kuala Lumpur berbau masam. Wajah-wajah yang diam, tunduk, teliti memilih lagu-lagu senja untuk menemani perjalanan pulang.

Sunyi di bandar bunyinya lain. Bukan seperti di kampung, bila sunyi, maka bunyinya sepi. Di bandar, sunyinya berlagu dan berbau. Lagu-lagu kasar, datang dari mesin-mesin besar yang menjantungi bandar. Bau-bau minyak dan keringat insan pula menghiasi kesunyian tadi.

Dalam kesibukan itu, ada suatu wajah tua yang tersenyum. Asing sekali senyumannya dari wajah-wajah lain dalam gerabak itu. Ahh, mungkin dia datang dari kampung, mahu mencari anaknya di sini, perkara biasa. Pada tangannya ada beg besar yang berat. Pada tubuhnya terselit kegigihan orang lama. Berdirinya bongkok, mungkin kerana tulang-tulangnya sudah berusia.

Ketika itu aku sedar. Dalam keghairahan sebuah bandar yang sibuk, penuh dengan jiwa yang mengejar cita-cita. Semua orang terlupa, bahawa tiada jiwa yang lebih penting dari jiwa yang lain. Tiada orang yang lebih berhak dari orang yang lain.

Sepanjang 3 stesen orang tua itu berdiri, tiada seorang pun yang bangun untuk beliau duduk. Orang-orang yang sibuk, yang berucap pada cermin, "Aku mahu mengubah dunia!" sudah gagal ujian pertama. Mereka telah melebihkan jiwa mereka sendiri. Mengabaikan jiwa yang tua, yang mungkin sudah terbatas waktunya untuk berbakti pada dunia.

Lalu sedarlah aku, masyarakat ini lahir dari cita-cita yang singkat. Asalnya semua dari kata-kata yang nista dan dusta. Dilemparkan pada cermin, dan terpantul pada muka-muka sendiri.

They have become their own gods. Changing the world into a nameless wasteland. Indulging in their self-importance, forgetting the dream, not bothering for repentance.

The knot that ties us together

Do you feel rejected by both ends of your world?
When they push your extended hand away,
When they refuse to understand that time is short,
And when they turn away from the bitter smile you struck,
In retaliation to that gentle and harsh push,
That felt warm and painful, and sometimes beautiful.

Please understand that those arent rejection,
Because when all you wanted was to understand your world,
All your world wanted was to understand itself,
So it could better contain you and everyone else it pledged their refuge to,
And so that the knot that ties the both ends of your line can be kept safe,
So that it wouldnt break,
Even when a million other worlds rest upon it