Come to the river
The river knows everything
It contains all shades
Jasper, emerald, sapphire
No past, no future
But a deathless present is
There. Swim and know all
From the mountains to the seas.
Intimate secrets
Are reflected to the sky
Listen closely to its cry

Look not at my heart
This casket of selfishness
Look not at my eyes
Vile twins of hate and judgement
Look not at my mouth
Creator of lies from nil
I am a wretched
Being. Living over graves.
Look not at me. Forget me

I do love thee
This temple of mine
Of flesh and bone
Created

Whose measurements
And motions I must
Take care with no
Restrictions

Do not forget
Its solemn needs else
It could not perform

Its solemn industries
Without pain and
Constant scorn

I must eat well
Live well
Measure, rest
Reflect and
Move my body

As was designed
For many years
Before death
Arrests me

I found a poem
In an LRT station
Garbage can
Written on the back
Of a 7-11 receipt
In blue ink

It was a letter
Of heartbreak to
A hometown lover
Four stanzas
And a couplet

And then the train
Arrives in cold blood
Like an army captain
But I decided
Not to join

There is something else
That needs my
Presence
I put the receipt
Back in its place

Do not ignore me
Look at me, your creation!
Embrace my body
That I may be yours fully
I have gone astray
In the ocean of regret
Drenched in coral sound
Swallowed by the swirl of death
Let me hear the songs
That the seagulls offer you
Kiss my yearning lips
And whisper grace into my ear!
My tongue on your chest
Look not at me as a slave
But as the blood to your heart
Please forget my sins
But remember my kisses
As the rocks remember waves

Under the same moon
Warm blood spills out of bodies
Into the dark ground.
Babes are taken from mothers.
Stray dogs **** the weak.
Under the sway of tyrants
Men fight fellow men
To escape the swamp of ****.
Children beg in streets
Where the sick lie naked and
The houses are burnt
For the pockets of the rich.
Under the same sun
Tide goes in and tide goes out
Inside this gift they call life

In the countryside
There comes a darkness. A space-
Craft blocks out the sun.
Blue light from below. Blue light.
The trees electric
Wine dark disc over white sheep
What omen is this
That I, first of mankind sees?
What heart of time past
Has coalesced in this space?
I stare at the ship
Turn violet. My tired eyes
Seeing new life above all