Saturday, October 17, 2020
Across our time
2am: The Last Call
If this is the last time please come close,
Touch my face before you go.
If this is the last time please come close,
Don't hold your breath dad, it already hurts when I see your eyes closed.
If this is the last time please come close,
Tear my walls down and take me home.
If this is the last time please come close,
Hold me softly and tell me a joke,
Like how you burnt your pants when trying to smoke.
If this is the last time please come close,
Teach me of the world and warn me of the sea,
I'll carry your lessons and try not to choke.
If this is the last time please come close,
We'll share a prawn curry and talk about Chelsea,
Then we'll head back home and I'll climb your tree,
If this is the last time I'll come close,
Recognize my presence,
I promise I'm not a ghost,
I've understood your love and now I'm learning how to say it,
How I've always missed you,
And I hope you'd hear it.
Friday, August 21, 2020
The overexposed
I can see the pictures now,
But more than that I could see your faces when you would look at them later,
There are feelings that haunt these photographs of us,
Off a peculiar brand of memories,
One that you cant remember but somehow feels very familiar,
And this is where I wish our paths would split,
So you wont end up like me,
Comfortable in solace,
I do not wish to be forgotten, no,
Not by the likes of you,
Not by the likes of people who I'd have given hold of my heart,
Even in days like this when you're all squeezing it a little too tightly,
I would still not have asked for it back,
Because I've known the piercing pain in my chest,
And how beautiful it is,
I don't know if you've felt it before,
In case you haven't,
Its nearly the same as one you've felt,
When you are looking at these photographs of us.
Monday, June 15, 2020
Hari minggu yang panjang
Seterusnya pagi itu aku nikmati dengan kopi 'o panas, mengabusi cermin mataku sedang aku dicurahi cahaya matahari yang kuning. Pokok mempelam ayahku melambai2, seiring dengan tiupan angin yang menghembus bersama dengan bau rumahku. Bau yang sudah aku kenali sejak sekian lama. Bau inilah yang melonggarkan ketegangan jiwaku setiap kali aku pulang setelah terlalu lama aku berdiri sendiri.
Sepanjang aku berada di sini, aku diceritakan tentang kisah-kisah silam. Kisah-kisah yang tidak mahu dilupakan, lalu diturunkan kepada anak-anak agar boleh dijadikan teladan suatu masa kelak. Kisah-kisah pekerjaan, keluarga dan persahabatan. Sebetulnya dalam mendengar semua cerita itu aku tenggelam dalam diriku sendiri. Adakah sedikit pun sifat-sifat mereka ini yang terpalit dalam cara hidupku? Seterusnya aku pun mula takut, takut yang aku akan lupakan kisah-kisah mereka, dan dalam kecacatanku sendiri, mereka akan hilang jika aku pergi terlalu lama.
Maafkan aku, aku bukan anak yang sempurna. Kadang-kadang aku terlalai dan terlupa, dalam kekerasanku mengejar cita-citaku sendiri. Aku sudah terlupa kisah selamat tinggal terakhir dengan opahku, dan mereka yang mengingatkanku. Bagaimana opahku bersungguh-sungguh mencariku dari dalam kereta untuk bersalaman. Dalam sakitnya dia, dalam tekaknya yang rosak dari kimoterapi, dia tidak lupa kepada cucunya, dan memanggil nama kami walau tanpa ada suara yang keluar.
Maafkan aku jika suatu hari nanti aku terlupa. Aku bersumpah, kalianlah manusia yang terbaik dalam hidupku. Dengan sabarnya mendidikku, membentukku, tanpa merintihkan kesetiaanku. Kalianlah yang mengikatku pada bumi, yang mengingatkanku bahawa aku ada tempat dalam dunia, yang merawatku ketika sakit, yang menenangkanku dalam tangisan, yang sentiasa mengingati aku dahulu dari diri kalian sendiri. Akan kubawa cerita-cerita kita kepada penghuni-penghuni baru rumahku kelak. Agar mereka dididik sepertiku, dan dibentuk sepertiku, agar kalian akan berbangga, dan penat lelah kalian tidak sia-sia.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
And your words fall down like rain,
They smile as you reach for the thorny red rose,
And let you enjoy the pain.
Your silence seem filled with unspoken words,
Is that why I can hear from you so much screaming?
But its okay because other than the unheard and the disturbed,
No one else is listening.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Tremors
With your narrowed eyes,
You trace the dancing shadow,
Hidden by distance,
Present by faith,
The floor moves as you stood still,
Your feet planted firmly on the ground,
Pierced by rusty nails,
Bleeding your black blood,
Trembling in distress,
The floor moves as you stood still,
Arms stretched,
Fists closing on the cold air,
Reaching for the hidden presence,
Clawing for the unseen star,
The floor moves as you stood still,
As your surprised gasps fill the air,
Your face warm from your breath,
When the imminent thunder strikes,
You finally fall through the cracks,
Moved, at last.