The Grave of the Fireflies

The Autumn of Terror rings the bell,

For once, then twice, nobody

Ever responds. As if amateur daggers

Conceal themselves in the fog,

Awaiting. Hold your breathe

For nothing, but a ray of sunlight.

Every breeze, grows into crystallized ice,

Can freeze nothing, but your soul.

The rays turn vague, gradually pass

Their burden to the moonlight shade.

A starless night accompanied by

Mermaid’s lullaby. The journey just ends.

Out the cabin, come the fireflies’

Belated greetings. Fruit candies,

Marshmallow castle, rainbow fountain -

Playful laughters echo, echo, and echo.

As if hypnotized by

mesmerizing melody, sleepwalking.

Out the paradise, welcomes the swirly

Black hole. Ravens croak,

Bats mobilize. The misconceived

Sirius, soon clouded over.

Here,

Everything is illusive.

Your senses are no longer

Reliable.

The sparks of light are

Long gone. They are awaiting -

Awaiting the next off-track cabin

To sink.

The Grave of the Fireflies is a free-verse blues poem that possesses illusive imagery, highlighting the mysterious theme of death. Although fireflies shines our way in darkness, they are short-lived, just like any other beautiful creatures. The motif of supernaturalism and paradox insightfully present the sudden, intense of fear one undergoes when facing death. Indeed, allusion is another frequent literary technique next to motif. The Autumn of Terror, like the bloody age when London overwhelmed by Jack the Ripper, guides the lost souls into a seeming paradise by mermaids, whose hypnotic melody can easily control lost minds. Sirius, the brightest star in universe, soon clouded over by ominous creatures – death is not far ahead.

Let It Rain

Out the window, out the yard,

Torrential downpour hits the arc,

The bashful milky osmanthus,

Floating in the dusk,

Fragrant yet bitter.

Nightfall with rainy breath,

Leaves nature an achromatic gloom.

Out the homestead, out the town,

Prolonged shadow stands the gown,

The secured wooden door,

Staring at the keyhole,

Wonted yet distant.

Homeward bound, heavy heart,

Away the party dins smoky laughter.

Out the playground, out the wild,

Morus leaves hang loose untouched,

The muttering flustered larvae,

Sheltering within the silky shrub,

Tangled and soaked.

Till Cumulus rallies and

Silvery stars appear.

Nature awaits their magic.

The soothing melody,

Like a tap dancer’s nimble feet,

As million droplets kiss tin rooftops,

And trickle down hollow gutters,

As sole horizon merges in the vesture,

And fall into blurred vision.

Nature’s lullaby for worn out souls.

Farewell

 

The moment when you leave us for a wider world, the memories between you and me seem to be a dream. An evocative, poignant dream...

While I lied in the flower sea,

You sat right on the nearby stone bench, reading silently,
The classic rose apricot blossom,
Floated in the pink,
Energetic yet leisurely,
The peony verse you compiled,
Was a ringtone for the rest of my day.

While you rushed under the amber sun,
I rode on my bicycle, gazing blankly,
The lavender pink crape myrtle,
Carried by the rosy wind,
Fuzzy yet clear,
The azure gift on top with a jasmine you hold,
Was a pandora box for my eight-year-old birthday.

While I fell beside the aged camphor tree,
You hid at the far corner, regarding secretly,
The primrose yellow chrysanthemum,
Mingled with the bittersweet breeze,
Chilled yet warm-hearted,
The tawny osmanthus you left behind,
Was a minute consolation for my pain.

While you strolled in the front yard,
I peeked behind the curtains, grieving unaccountably,
The alice blue camellia,
Shriveled under the company of iris,
Depressed and melancholy,
The misty snowflake melted on your shoulder,
Grew into thousands relentless icicles,
Stabbed and twisted in my heart.

The moment you leave us,
Without bringing a piece of cloud,
Without saying a single word,
You will never know,
My delight had replaced with blue,
Fade away as your absence in my life.

Let go of your hatred

Forgiveness is defined as the willingness to overlook others’ mistakes and evildeeds. It is definitely not a natural human characteristic. Almost everybody has to try hard to attain this virtue. Personally, it is lacking in me. Forgiveness, sounds to be a word that we can all say easily and even do without hesitation, at least, that was how I had thought when I was little. However, it simply does not work on the grown-up me. In fact, I feel that forgiving is a huge challenge for every one of us but it is a virtue worth fighting for.

Mummy always tells me, “Being mad at others is like taking their mistakes and using it to punish ourselves. To forgive is the best way for others to have a second chance.” Even though I understand its philosophy, it still does not make it any easier for me to forgive others for what they have done unto me. In my memory, my younger sister and I always used to quarrel ever since the earliest days of our childhood. Due to our completely disparate styles, characteristics and opinions, it always leads us to a result of fight. Mother often advises us to forgive each other rather than just talking about each other’s faults and weaknesses. Perhaps, I did try once, but my sister’s unruliness proved to me that it simply would not work on her... That definitely made me feel that my efforts were totally wasted on her. In fact, she does not understand my mind, she thought I was just pretending in front of Mother. I suppose she harbours in her mind a devilish image of her elder sister and it would be similar to swimming against to tide for her to give me a second chance. Everyone is reluctant to concede their error, so the vicious cycle of blame continues.

Still, some human actions are indeed unforgivable. Theft, kidnap and assassination are mortal sins many criminals do. Pedophiles who prey on young innocent children surely cannot be forgiven, can they? We are all human beings with frailties of varying degrees, but some wrongdoings are just pure evil. Perpetrators cannot go unpunished, yet there is a rare breed who are capable of forgiveness even in the face of wickedness.

Matt Manning is indeed a rarity. Some time ago as a young gay man, he was brutally knifed, raped and left for dead at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He contracted AIDS and was near death but for the miraculous healing and his conversion to Christianity. Years later, and now a pastor ministering in prisons, he came face to face with his rapist, who answered his altar call. Matt Manning forgave him. I think God enabled him to do so.

The ability to forgive does not occur naturally in us. Yet the godly are capable of this virtuous act because it is the best way to have a fresh start, to build a firm belief and trust among friends and former foes, to mend festering wounds, dry up tears and heal broken hearts. Begin with baby steps if it is not your forte. If you remember, forgiving others means liberating yourself too, then forgive will becomes more doable. It is worth fighting for ------- forgiveness. ‘To err is human, to forgive is divine,’ so let us take the high road and travel on the journey of life with less baggage. ‘Travel light,’ I remind myself.

Resources:
http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Matthew_Manning.htm
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWIJMgkzgN62YFLOcWzYL9AM9VkxiDCuU_GaCfv_ks7fyrBUkTkPhGmZzWYasueuhvnC3GwRlvQsxtMKGaOdO0EKNhPBB_sW8ON415AsLcFmNm-rTw1BMSEaVLxx5TVMelzMI4KjEMEg/s400/forgiveness-3.jpg

This I Believe

Being bold in the midst of frightening realities

Evil lurks, but goodness will triumph

Love the unlovely, love in a world full of hatred

I will believe!

Even when discouragement sets in

Victory in the midst of seeming defeat

Echoes true in my heart

Believe, forms a strong faith in our hearts, and is always under lock and key in a way that we do not mention. Even when we reach the terminus of difficulty or failure, it will grow stronger and firmer, continuing on for us to build on a glimmer of hope. Looking at historical events, evil has existed throughout the ages. Yet we are still here, inhabiting this more sophisticated land of abundance. I wonder, if this is the evidence of the firm belief in our minds and faith in our hearts?

Although we are surrounded by advancements in technology, whenever we switch on the television or browse the pages of newspaper, we still see sadness and the harsh realities of our world today. We have come so far as a human race, but we continue to struggle with the same old problems ----fighting, disagreements, hunger, poverty...the list is endless.

Today, nations are rising against nations as we have seen taking place in the Middle East region. Totalitarian regimes fall and democracy triumphs but at too costly a price. Can true peace and freedom be had when violence are used to secure them? Do their attainment justify the means by which they are accomplished? Do they sit well in the deep recesses of our conscience? The gruesome pictures of the slayed Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, has raised these questions in my mind. Even the most evil deserves to be judged in the international court of law, just like Saddam Hussein. If we return evil for evil, we are no better than our enemy, no less savage than the beasts. We must hold on to our humanity just as we hold on to dear life.

We must persist in believing that through fighting we will learn from history, through disagreements we will reach a unanimous decision, through witnessing hunger and poverty we will be rudely awakened from our apathetic stupor. React with kindness when confronted with evil, speak up for the voiceless and the muzzled, defend the defenseless, feed the hungry, heal the sick but first, begin by jumpstarting our cold, hardened and desensitized hearts. It begins with me and you, stand up and be counted. Be not mere bystanders but participants in life.

For there must surely be goodness in people. Humanity is worth fighting for, even though what we see unfolding shows little evidence of it. Mahatma Gandhi once said wisely: “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” This too, I believe.

Resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPwOCLjtOwI http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4467789.Mahatma_Gandhi

What makes us human?

What makes us human?

I noticed in Somalia the hungry,
While others discarded pies and pastry,
They laughed, consumed excessively,
Dispassionate and unmoved. Tragically.
Why do people do that,
Such horrible things to one another?

A mate but also a competitor,
Chopped down by a friend, a traitor,
For that better job aggressively,
Friendship was forgotten. Totally.
Why do people do that,
Such horrible things to one another?

What makes us human
Empathy
Sympathy
Loyalty
Integrity
I implore you to unmask
Your clever disguises
You hardened hearts.

It is ironic that famine can still be seen in some parts of the world when modern technology and advancement forge ahead at a breakneck speed. It seems that Somalia and Ethiopia have become its permanent posterchild, stuck in the time warp of the harshest of realities. We can still see people wasting food or indulging in pure gluttony. Have we forgotten how lucky we are and that people are still starving to death in other countries? The self-serving rich have become richer but the destitute are no better. Is the latter not a damning evidence that the price of progress has been the erosion of humanity? Alas, human brilliance has not provided a solution for an age old problem ----- hunger. In an increasingly borderless world, competition is so much keener that betrayal has become the express way to prominence. A colleague would not hesitate to step on another to reach the higher echelons of success. There are also friends with a hidden agenda. Let us take stock of the immutable old school values: integrity, loyalty, sympathy and empathy less we regress to our stone age savagery. I fear we may not recognize ourselves anymore.

Resource : http://thewe.cc/weplanet/news/children/hunger_children_dying.htm

Life is precious, therefore love and love unceasingly

"Life is so fragile and precious. Please love each other" ~ Julia Roberts

The year 2001 was an annus horribilis. In every nook and cranny of the world, humanity watched in horror. The skyline of New York City was irreversibly changed forever. More importantly, the odious cruelty of terrorism reared its hideous head and approximately 3,000 innocent lives were senselessly lost in the blink of an eye. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre collapsed like a horrific scene from a Hollywood movie. The extent of the heinous crime against humanity is comparable to the Holocaust for it shocked the entire world, which stood still while CNN delivered the breaking news.

The seemingly normal morning of 11 September, 2001 was blown to smithereens when 19 suicide terrorists from the Islamic extremist group, Al Qaeda under the leadership of the now deceased Osama bin Laden, crashed two planes into the iconic skyscrapers, a third one into the Pentagon and still another was targeted at a governmental site in Washington D.C. Their motivation was the demand for the release of imprisoned fellow terrorists.

The physical damage to the world-renown properties were on a scale never before experienced by any nation, let alone the most powerful in the world, America. Yet the unseen wound ~ the spirit of a nation ~ laid bare and in tatters in the immediate aftermath of the unspeakable catastrophe. America had suffered a blow below the belt, and many were worried that the Americans would not recover from such terrible acts against its people, against humanity.

Ten years on and tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of 9/11. It is a painful and sad milestone for the families of those who had perished in the disaster. The world stands in silence to honor those who lost their lives innocently. In mourning and with bowed heads, we ask ourselves, "What is worth fighting for?"

The preservation of innocent lives, to enjoy freedom without constant fear, the defense of the weak and the defenseless, a voice for the muffled cries of the oppressed. These are worth fighting for. Are they not the things that separate humans from beasts? Hate destroys all that it touches but love nurtures and protects. Life is too precious. Let the 9/11 deaths not be in vain.

Resources:

http://www.journeyofhearts.org/kirstimd/911_wake.htm