The Poetry Marathon

An interest kindled.

In childhood, inspired.

Those early stumbles.

Uncertain despair.

Those cold mornings and long days.

All sacrifices made.

Surmounting obstacles and conquering all challenges.

In a quest for perfection.

One precise goal.

One luminous victory.

One shining gold.

All the years of sacrifice have paid off.

© 2016 SP

Before I rage impotently against the dying light.

Before I scream incoherently as my gaolers drag me away.

Before my vision narrows inexorably to nothingness.

Before the last vestiges of acuity, clarity, and dignity disappear.

Before I kneel to the inevitable.

And shamble off into nothingness.

Before my time comes.

Let me see this world again.

© 2016 SP

I’ve been wondering.

What you have been doing.

Where you have been.

And who have you been seeing?

So when did we start to unravel?

How could you just walk away?

And why did you?

I am so perplexed

Greatly vexed.

Damn you.

I really wish I could put a hex on you.

© 2016 SP

Rosewood.

A baby is born.

We see the Statue of Liberty, buried in the sand.

John Wayne takes his last breath against the setting sun.

Jump cut to Freddy’s talons – he is alive!

Zoom out on city bathed in the first light of a new day.

Title credits roll.

An award-winning song plays.

Blooper reel?

Post-credit scene sets up sequel.

“The End”.

© 2016 SP

Let us embark on
This annual pilgrimage
Where words run amok.

A mind obtuse.

My verses bemuse.

Information I peruse.

No inspiration from my muse.

She is amused.

“Can’t you deduce?”

“This is where I leave you.”

© 2015 Silvester Phua

Stone by stone, brick by brick,

Block after block,

Heritage erodes, it’s all history.

Soaring soulless skyscrapers,

Shopping malls in gleaming glass,

Our living Stepfordian nightmare.

Where will it end?

This pursuit of a tenuous future.

Progress is such an abused word.

© 2015 Silvester Phua

On a hot day,

Somnambulant in my study,

My tutor put my skills on trial.

A vocabulary throwdown, if you will.

Go for it, this shy pupil was told.

What’s most common? No way!

“You can’t possibly know till you try, my boy.”

Probably not, I thought.

It’s just too hard to avoid using it!

It was straightforward.

A quick solution without complication.

Now, I know!

© 2015 Silvester Phua

“Look at me.”

“I see you.”

“We never talk.”

“I tell you about my day.”

“Don’t take me for granted.”

“What do you need?”

“A little romance.”

“What do you call them flowers?”

“You are hopeless.”

“I don’t know what you are on about.”

“So what’s for dinner?”

“Steak.”

© 2015 Silvester Phua

His temper was legendary.

No fools he gladly suffered,

Nor tolerated, frivolity,

Despised by many, feared by most,

His word was law.

The colonial master unshackled,

The ablest of men by his side,

A master plan envisioned,

Single-mindedly executed,

Our nation shaped accordingly.

A half-century on,

Of “peace, prosperity, and progress”,

From “Third World To First”;

Much envied in the region,

This ‘Little Red Dot’.

Yet on this eve of ‘SG50’,

A departure untimely,

His people unready,

The nation mourns truly,

Our founding father Harry.

Now the murmurs of discontent,

Grow ever resoundingly,

His shadow hangs heavy,

His legacy unsteady.

So where do we go from here?

© 2015 Silvester Phua