Can I Sleep?
I need to be productive.
I need to do things today.
I need a clear head.
I need to find motivation.
Do I want to? Maybe
Wake up | Surya T | Poetry Marathon Poem 22
The end is near
just a few more hours left to go
you’ve done a lot so far
and it’s the last leg of the journey
I get the exhaustion of your body
I understand your brain wanting to rest
But within a few hours, all of this will be done
All of this will be done soon
The challenge will be completed
and you’ll become stronger
Go on, my boy, go on
You must not give up
not when you’re near the finish line
You can do this
and I believe in you
–Surya T
Hour 22: Home
A dirt road by the green fields
A lone car, traversing through puddles
The only remaining proof
Of last night’s shower
Apart from the vibrant green
Standing out even more in
The dreary weather…
It’s going to be a long drive home.
Hour 21: A Form Letter
Dear [current employer]–
You have been so near and dear to my heart. With you in my life, I have had the opportunity to achieve my promise and life’s work of saving [quantity] of the [insert special interest] in [geographical data]. All the while, flaunting posed diverse collateral of [client type] in
This has truly been the work of providence. I will be forever changed by your ability to slip from my grasp the concepts of self-care and mental wellness. Thank you for indoctrinating me with your shining models of charity and martyrdom.
This season, can you return the life energy I invested in this machine?
And, if that is not within your means: give me money. As much as you can. Right now.
Signed,
[Former employee]
P.S. – Quit your job, then get this tattooed on your body as a reminder.
In My Shoes
I am a person that loves to smell the flowers.
I love to dance when no one is watching.
I am a person that tries to get into the middle to stop fights. (well try)
I know my weaknesses and I know my strengths.
I am someone that has a lot of pieces that are not always visible.
I know myself.
(Hour 13 of 24) “My own swan lake”
As a young boy, my earliest memories,
were of feeding the swans at the lake,
with father, mother, and me,
Those croutons I cast away with wanton abandon,
flinging far and wide without a care in the world.
As an adult, I returned again to my swan lake,
not to feed them, but to contemplate.
Orphaned too early,
had to grow up in a hurry,
innocence curtailed; experience inevitable.
Alone now as I ever was,
I revert to childhood pleasures.
Diminished in body, but a mind still with purpose,
I serve my swans again.
with a child’s delight.
© 2021 S Phua
I Should Have Said Yes
(for hour 21—from the say “yes” prompt of hour 15)
I should have said yes
Anger
I’d not seen that in my grandparents before
Too young to understand toxins and kidney function
It surprised me when Grandma snapped back at him
Fussiness did not become them
It didn’t make sense to me
Then she threatened to send him away
Away!
She turned to me
Out of all the people at the extended table
Where multiple family dinners had been fun,
Tender
Full of laughter
She turned to me and asked,
“Do you want your grandpa to come live with you?”
Shock
Surprise
Horror at the concept playing out before me
Logistics
Worry
What would my parents say if I gave permission without asking?
I looked to my grandfather’s tired face, his eyes red, looking to me with sadness
I sputtered, “Where would you sleep?”
Then he cast his eyes down
It was the wrong response
This woman I no longer recognized hooted as if she’d played the poisoned pawn
“See! Even your granddaughter doesn’t want you!”
Someone swooped in to save us, my grandpa and me
We locked eyes once again
Sorrow in sympathy
Logistics be damned, I should have said “yes”
Hour 10: The Crows and Rooks
“Crows and rooks are rather clever birds,
Forever discriminated, as stupid and gratuitous,
Because of their colour,
Yet, I fail to see how their colour,
Defines their worth,
For they are incredible specimens,
And are far from being redundant.
A Good Tasting Miracle
I took a square section of ground 4 feet by 20 feet and roped it off.
Like lasagna layering I added Chicken manure, potting soil, black cinders, straw chips and grass clippings. Then I prayed that my combination was right.
After thoroughly watering I planted lettuce seedlings.
In fifty days I was picking, adding oil and vinegar and enjoying a hearty green salad.
And you say there’s no God.
hour 22 to wake me up
if i keep my fingers moving
for a few minutes
i will keep my eyes from closing,
creating words instead of a jumble of letters
filling the glowing square with nonsense
or a language of my subconscious i never knew i knew.
pretty sure it’s more the former than the latter.