Undo The Undoing

How do I unsee a violation so ugly,

In a world cold, hard and lonely?

How to unlive life devoid of meaning,

Without a single joyful song to sing?

How can I unhear the wails of pain,

So horrific that it numbs my brain?

How to unfeel the guilt in my heart,

For the crimes of Man I’m a part?

How do I to untaste the bitter potion,

When spitting out is not an option?

How to unsmell the rotting stench,

When chained to the torture bench?

How to unknow inconvenient truths,

Even if I think fast and loose?

Indeed, how to undo the undoing,

If everything is coming and going?

HOCUS POTUS

Melania is such a great FLOTUS

She’s become the new public focus,

Diverting us from the erratic POTUS

And his exasperating hocus pocus!

DARLING

Darling, you set my heart on fire

By being the object of my desire.

Like a romantic song I’ll never tire,

You satisfy a need for love so dire.

Frankly, you’re all that I require.

Even if I’m in a desperate quagmire,

When my life is hanging on a wire,

You will be there to lift me higher.

You know that I’m not a liar,

To say that it’s you I truly admire.

NOTHING’S GETTING DONE

Shooting steam from every orifice

Amidst frenzied work at the office.

Trying to find our place in the sun,

But nothing's getting done.

Saving every nickel, every dime

Just can’t make up for lost time.

Forgetting passion, forgoing fun,

Yet, nothing's getting done.

Who is there to take the blame?

No, they’ll simply raise their game.

Appearing as things nicely run,

In reality, nothing's getting done.

Waiting for a chance to have a say,

If the status quo is here to stay?

But now the non-event has begun,

You know nothing's getting done.

Slaving to the whims of the majority

Is to be part of this mass insanity.

Relieving us a duty we can’t shun

Because nothing’s getting done.

SEPTEMBER ELEVEN

In America's September Eleven,

In the year Twenty O One,

The people cried to heaven

Because the terrorists won.

In Singapore's September Eleven,

In the year Twenty Seventeen,

Meritocracy went to heaven

Under a democratic smokescreen.

THE GAME

Nobody knows if it can ever be

For a Great Designer such as He

To be bothered with a man like me

Even as I cry here like a baby.

Because Long before I knew it,

I had been planted with a seed.

Onto mortality's one-way street,

Now, I'm just part of this evil deed. 

The pain and the heartbreaks I find

Are no accidents but cruel design.

As I leave joy and laughter behind,

It's to disease and old age I resign.

I wish I might as well be mad,

If the rules of the game are so sad.

I wouldn't mind dying if it's all bad,

But with love, beauty and all that?

The code of life is hard to crack.

And the clock never turns back.

O just give it a go, what the heck!

Before it all turns pitch-black!

Dear Mum 

You taught me how to be kind

With the wisest words I can find.

Your love breaks my daily grind

With the smiles you left behind.

To the line between us, I'm blind.

Our unshakeable ties forever bind.

How I wish we can have a rewind.

Dear Mum, you live on in my mind.

Dedicated to my mum, who passed away on 29 August 2012

EYES, MINDS, HEARTS AND GUT

When we close our eyes,

We can see beyond the skies.

So never close our minds

To people of different kinds.

When we open our hearts,

Compassion flows in our innards.

So never ignore loving feelings

For all of Earth's living things.

When we follow our gut,

Reason and sophistry play no part.

So act on your good inner voice.

Make kindness your choice.

WELCOME!

Welcome to a life post-modern

Where nothing is of real concern.

But for prejudice, our new god,

Reason can be safely ignored.

If upside down is downside up,

Logic sinks in our lazy bathtub.

If every corner is a place to pee,

We'll have to pretend not to see.

Fights for rights and freedom

Become devices to kill boredom.

Acts of honour and morality

Provide the baits for profitability.

As truth has become a travesty,

Honesty is open to mockery.

But if every answer is wrong,

This is a world we cannot belong.

THE SAND CASTLE

One day, Pa Pa made a sand castle,
Mixing loving care with big muscle.
When it became creme de la creme,
Everyone was so proud of him.

A work of perfection out of our reach,
It shone like a rare gem on the beach.
A stunning feat never to be repeated,
With worldwide applause he was feted.

But, someone kicked a heavy ball.
Oh dear, just look at where it did fall!
It was really hard to show no emotion
When we saw a great sandy demolition.

A total sadness came after the shock.
For a while, we just couldn't talk.
We begged Pa Pa to build us another.
But he told us to ask Big Brother.

But, no matter how Big Brother tried,
The best sand castle had truly died.
So when Pa Pa left us shortly after,
We could offer only sorrow at his altar.

One night, Pa Pa appeared in a dream.
He told us never again to cry for him.
For he had embedded glory in the sand,
Everybody just needs to lend a hand.


Singapore is best described as a sand castle. No matter how glorious it was in the past, its sharp edges will be blunted by the wind, its design will grow weary, its purpose will be eroded by the passage of time and its structure will be destroyed when the tide comes in. It needs constant re-building by everyone.