Poem: Lover, Mother, Warrior

She is the tease; tantalised
lovers in wait, forlorn
memory of rain withheld.

She is the mother; measured
tough love dispensed, wayward offsprings reminded of ancient laws.

She is the warrior, weathered
bearer of bums, absorbing
a hundred thousand blows

Before unleashing karma tenfold.

~ Ivan

Note: wrote these lines in the midst of the week of the worst recorded Sumatran haze in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. I heard thunder on a day when rains were not predicted to happen for weeks. But alas the rains did not materialise on Singapore soil. The sweet promise of rain must have inspired me to compose this in under 20 minutes. If only the rains take a shorter time to arrive.

Poem: We find spaces to empty and fill

In tubes of steel and plastics
We speed across cold tracks

World-watching through silica panes
While the weather smash wet

We pull into the terminus
Silently struggling en masse
Combating for cramped spaces
Dry stepping to avoid the damp

We gush like water molecules
Through a sprout into
Confines ill-designed

And finally out!

We the unsteady human tide
Pulsating with individual intent
Ebbing as a coherent mass

We find spaces to empty and fill

~ Ivan Chew

Waiting for the Rain to Stop by Brian Sahagun, on Flickr
CC-BY-ND-NC

“Downpour” (#111: Project 365 Sketches)

“Downpour” (#111: Project 365 Sketches)

Sketch Club app; iPhone.

2013, Sun 21 Apr.

It was a welcome drench
of a downpour
this late afternoon.

Quenched the suffocating
Concrete-baked heat of past days.

#365sketches

Poem: Outpour

The rain is pouring with vengeance,
Hammering on plastic, canvas and concrete.

Every drop competing to make a dent,
Every drop a challenge;
Onslaught of percussive mayhem,
Taunting those would dare venture out,
Into their wet embrace.

“Rain” by tchandok. CC-BY-SA.

Poem: Ciphers in the Sky

Clouds gather in the blue
Edges glinting from the scorch of the sun

They hang there, secrets suspended
Waiting to be read by the wind

They hang there, dancing slowly
Ciphers on the pages of the sky

~ Ivan Chew

Image courtesy of Guerito CC-BY-NC.

Poem – Five boys, Two girls: Scene on an afternoon train

Five boys, Two girls: Scene on an afternoon train
—————————————–

Five boys,
Teenagers dressed in black tees.
“Student councillors” stamped
on their backs.

Holding their lunches of
fried carbs from the Golden Arches,
Talking about surviving
yet another year of math.

Two girls,
Standing further off, looking
like they aren’t looking.

The girls with their puppy-shy glances,
Made their way over, filling empty
seats near where the boys were. Smoothing
their skirts; preening their hair, perched
For attention. No more than a foot away.

The boys remained
Oblivious.

~ Ivan Chew.
18 Jun 2010.

Poem: Electric Rain Song

A composition for this instrumental piece:

Electric Rain Song
============
clouds
dark and foreboding
over iron grey skies.

the trees reach up
to the skies
as if yearning
for release.

if they could unroot themselves,
they might.

rumble in the distance
flash of angry lightning
a quickening
sense of urgent anticipation
electric anxiety in the air.

we dance for rain
to break
the spell.

there is a tightness
in our hearts
as we hear the heavens sing
in tune to our electric rain song

we listen to the wet
and dance our steps
and if no words come
the music will remain

its own space in life.

Ivan Chew.

Poem: Jungle Sounds

I wrote this while sitting in a park waiting for my wife, and tried to think of a few lines to pass time. Originally posted at Seeds_o_Light.

Jungle Sounds
=========
In a park
On a bench
Under open skies
of powder blue

I hear hums and murmurs;
Of sounds around me:

Baritone-mumblings of the 5 o’clock traffic;
Rolling-rumble of train wheels on tracks;
Ping-ping-pounding from a construction site;
Crackle-zing gizmo noise from a TV box.

Mother Nature is quiet
Or rather,
Her sounds are drowned
By the machine-life
Of the concrete jungle

There are sounds a-plenty
Yet I’m hearing
Nothing

26 Aug ’05
Ivan Chew

Poem: Books In My Boat

[Originally posted at RamblingLibrarian]

Books In My Boat
==============
Read to me, my love
Open up my eyes

As I row our boat
Gently down this stream

Merrily, merrily
Passing through

This Dream
Which we call Life

Ivan Chew, Sept 11, 2004

Poem: Hello Quiet People

~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello Quiet People
~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello Quiet People
Nice to know you’re there

Well at least I think
That you are there

Even though
Your replies
Are down
To a trickle

Honestly, I wonder if
I’m talking to myself

Maybe as you read my mails
You’re laughing behind my back

Or maybe you consign my mails
As junk automatically

So a response now and then
Would be really nice, you know

Hello?
You are here, still
Aren’t you?

Ivan Chew, 27 Sept 2004
[Originally posted at Seeds_o_Light]