There is nothing you can do,my therapist reminds me, again.Hospital visitsare glorious walksalong tinted viewing walls of life, love and losson displayon white walls and whiter wards.Those who enter for visits oftenscurry outaching for a cigaretteto medicate their troubled thoughts, that humin their heads, that thumpingin their chests. There is nothing I can dobut remindContinue reading “Hospital Visits”
Category Archives: Short Poetry
Boxes
When Sunday comesYou bring out a box filled With Berita Harian newspaper you’ve kept for monthsso that you make some money with the karang guni manhopefully When Sunday cameI brought out a box ofBerita Harian, The Straits Times, TODAY, and other flimsy clippings and faded articlesof my existence that my mother keptall sealed in a box, and IContinue reading “Boxes”
It starts with…
A crushcouplets of lovey-dovey mush:“I can’t stop thinking of you gerl,You, my one and only world” An infatuationseeing you from a distancehiding behind pillars, ensuring my feetlight as a nimble lionbetter to view you from afar without any resistancejotting down every dimple, every description, every deets.Why are there so many “hair as smooth as silkpro” references inContinue reading “It starts with…”
The Mountain
I looked for you on the mountain today,I thought I’ll find you there.The sun rises but it doesn’t fill the void, sometimes I close my eyes and feel your handin mine. And once again, I went back in timeto the time when we were at the peak of what we loved to domanipulating the momentsfeeling the breezestaringContinue reading “The Mountain”
Hospital Visits
There is nothing you can do,my therapist reminds me, again.Hospital visitsare glorious walksalong tinted viewing walls of life, love and losson displayon white walls and whiter wards.Those who enter for visits oftenscurry outaching for a cigaretteto medicate their troubled thoughts, that thumping in their chest. There is nothing I can dobut remind myself, againyear afterContinue reading “Hospital Visits”
Lorry
The day will come when you who have helped to build our nationwill finally get to sit backon cushioned seatstoggle the aircon filter to your likingbuckle down the belta protection you once couldn’t afford a given right that this country has left out for you. The day will come when you can gaze out the windowand laze and never haveContinue reading “Lorry”
Mimosa
You are a lot of easter eggsawaiting to be found.Subtly hidden,in your own self-built spy shacklooking out to the world.Will they notice me?Will they find me beneath this thick layer of mossvines outgrowing their parental roots.A mimosa too shy to open uptoo afraid to be touchevery attempt at connectionends with boots trampling down your heart.And soContinue reading “Mimosa”
There are no walls in Jerusalem
There are no walls hereno division between me and the police besidea temple within a homea mosque within pillars of faithno need to search for God outside There are no thieves hereno shiny sequins worth stealing insidea shoe goes missingblessed the thief that needs it moremay he finds his own place to reside There areContinue reading “There are no walls in Jerusalem”
Rendang Recipe
Mak insist she wants to masak, this yearjust like last year. But she can no longer remember the recipe to her beef rendang, her signature dish for Aidilfitri. Food I feasted upongrowing up and tasted each year without fail. Everything isdifferent now, her hands a little moretender, the taste slightly peculiar, the aromaInviting stillbut her sprinkled seasoning of loveremainsContinue reading “Rendang Recipe”
Apple Tree
You have packed your boxes14 years of memorabiliafrom your cubicle desk in a record timeof 4 hours,scooped into brown boxes and blue IKEA bags. You return to your enclosurewith physical relief,your body heavyclimbing the stairs in the dark,the hallway light is out. You turn your keysand take a peek of what’s to come:Heaps of laundryContinue reading “Apple Tree”
Al Hafiz Sanusi 