pants for watching -
as we wonder around the supermarket
my daughter pushes her own trolley
she's trying to give her brother's shins a wallop
he shouts at her - how dairy
the trolley is confiscated; we look for the extra strong mints
there's a dog in a trolley
looking shell-shocked
we pass the ham
my son talks of hamlet
my daughter, in the trolley; her cheeks scrape against
the frozen food doors
sweet chin music in the fruit aisle
i jump on the melons
in snack limbo
we find the mints and confectionary
we can't find the car
cash and carry blues
a trolley is rolling towards us at 20 mph
we're running out of thyme
There is nothing that I cannot forget
Neither the tides
Never the shores
Newer terrains
Nether ashes
There is a fever that I see ferocious
Here is a blanket
Here is a blank verse
Here is a blister
Here is a boulder
There is a slogan that I see rising
Urge to utterance
United hopes
United tribes
Ultimate miseries
It is, it is a mistake that is moist
It is, it is a whisper that is whistling
I am just a centipede waiting for the walls
I am just a centipede lost in lusty sands
I am just a centipede with null and void
Let hundred hunters hang me down
Let thousand thieves thrive upon me
It is all a coinage, concocted calculus of cash and carry !
Friend,
Tell me no more...
Tell me no more about trust,
For trust is a barren risk,
A naked wire,
With no remorse or warranty
Tell me not about truth,
For truth has become a figment of imagination...
Truth has become propaganda, slander and mobbing
Tell me not about justice,
Justice have become solstice
Friend,
Tell me no more...
Tell me no more...
Tell me not about conscience,
For it is more than an open wound
Tell me not about decorum
What we have is audacity
Tell me not about knighthood,
What we have is dishonor
Friend,
Tell me not about meritocracy,
What we have is kleptocracy
Tell me not about love,
For love is cash and carry
My friend,
Tell me not about pain,
For without pain,
There is absolutely no gain
Spring basks
Midnight moon floats;
Silver interlude
~~~~~~~~~
Cool wind
Slides over shiver;
Breezy massage
~~~~~~~~~
Darkness spreads
Shadowy tentacles;
Bleak black shades
~~~~~~~~~~
Shopping spree
Extravagant desires;
Cash and carry
~~~~~~~~~~
Birthday boy
Bundle of joy;
Another earth angel
~~~~~~~~~~
Plumeria florals
Reds and yellows;
Frangipani rapture
~~~~~~~~~~
Leon Enriquez
01 March 2018
Singapore
Rest for the weary
From cash and carry
Not now dreary
From odd worry
Fond taste speaks well
As sales splurge dwells
On choice that spells
Just what stuff tells
Sound motifs bind
Such vivid finds
In touch that binds
A willing mind
Feed find fancy
With sales crazy
In choice dizzy
Dressed as happy
By bazaar street
Pure fancy meets
Stuff that now greets
Your curious feet
Leon Enriquez
14 October 2017
Singapore
Browse and take a look
Word clusters can hook
Verse scripts feel mellow
Meaning now swallows
Sculpt such clever finds
Reason charms clear mind
Word for word now dash
Conflict cradles clash
Ideas muzzle time
Vague affairs shade rhymes
Cash and carry stuff
Outcome funds enough
Listen as heart floods
Pulse of anxious blood
Explore odd sightings
Lines now wandering
Leon Enriquez
03 May 2016
Singapore
Lil’ twobits clanging
past midnight with
cash and carry dreams
sell low buy
cheap tomorrows news bouncing
yesterdays hate
in WTF headlines
“oh for sure like its for reals”
u know sunset paychecks and
eviction pink
slips between nighttime wannabe okays
into an “oh hell not today”
must-smile-for-the-boss realities
do me sideways and kiss me
without Prozac or
2am remorse
do it sometime quick
before the dawn chorus
wakes the landlord
and pocket change offends
the god of practical sorrows.
Joy seeps away
Hazy smog suffocates;
Madness bears fruits
~~~~~~~~~
Next holocaust
Breathless dying slowly;
Asphyxia mumbling
~~~~~~~~~
So many lessons
Unlearnt spoilage;
Malicious intent
~~~~~~~~~
Upside down world
Unscrupulous and greedy;
Exploits souls
~~~~~~~~~
Jigsaw puzzle:
Use things well,
Love people more
~~~~~~~~~
Cash and carry,
Burn the fields;
What AQI?
~~~~~~~~~
One world
Connected swirls;
Extreme pain hurls
~~~~~~~~~
Use people huh?
Make more money;
Discharge smog?
~~~~~~~~~
Ashy fragrance
Too much perfume;
No contrition
~~~~~~~~~
Nature groans
Suffocated earth;
Mankind in crisis
~~~~~~~~~
Humanity
Cruel predator;
Death comes slowly
~~~~~~~~~
Leon Enriquez
26 October 2015
Singapore
Waiting time
Loiters long;
Tentative tact
~~~~~~~~~
Unfinished
Block booking;
Time seeps away
~~~~~~~~~
Hazy complaints
Ashy sky blurring;
Smoky air blots
~~~~~~~~~
Drowsy notes
Morning haze floods;
Cranky moods
~~~~~~~~~
Burning smog
Hazy indiscretions;
Madness percolates
~~~~~~~~~
Sad and sorry
Same old story;
Sooty somehow
~~~~~~~~~
Cash and carry
Wind-blown haze;
Free Gift galore
~~~~~~~~~
Smog chokes
Haze-filled lungs;
People suffering
~~~~~~~~~
Sumatra burns
Hazy concessions;
Groggy tensions
~~~~~~~~~
Finger-pointing:
Tai-Chi blunders;
Culprits make money!
~~~~~~~~~
Plunder
Blunder;
Thunder
~~~~~~~~~
Leon Enriquez
24 October 2015
Singapore
Holiday season
Shopping spree;
Downtown bazaar
~~~~~~~~~
Easy atmosphere
All sorts of stuff;
Bargains galore
~~~~~~~~~
Table stalls cluster
Mini display items;
Souvenir trinkets
~~~~~~~~~
Crowded commotion
Zesty curiosity;
Sellers and buyers
~~~~~~~~~
Tucked in a corner
Custom-made brooches;
Artistic flair revealed
~~~~~~~~~
Flea market bazaar
Noisy excavations;
Happy discoveries
~~~~~~~~~
Vendors preside
Over special goods;
Come buy, come buy
~~~~~~~~~
Business pulse shows
Some transacting briskly;
Others just waiting
~~~~~~~~~
Weekend bazaar
Cash and carry ventures;
Curious smiles escalate
~~~~~~~~~
Buzz of discovery
Pretty and cute things;
Happy exchange
~~~~~~~~~
Voices float and fill
Seekers finding wares;
Easy breezy bargains
~~~~~~~~~
Leon Enriquez
29 November 2014
Singapore
Blurry e-motion
Waiting on words;
Upheaval swirls
Meal time posture
Food court harvest;
Same old stuff
Chinatown fringe
Walkabout excursion;
Hot humid weather chokes
Word for word jazz
Relevance juxtaposed;
Poignant verse strains
Book store punctuates
Tucked in a corner;
Niched following
Verse genres ply
Moods and variations;
Starling change surprise
Clap books monochrome
Small print runs;
Modest readership circle
Works on offer
Book bargains tease;
Second-hand relevance
Simple repast
Eat when hungry;
Flexible meal duration
Migraine fatigue hits
Siesta to recharge;
Stop gap measure
Cash and carry
Shopping trip downtown;
Happy getaway
Tired eyes droop
Glare of noon day sun;
Sudden shower wets
Casual visitors
Impromptu discourse;
Catchup chit-chat
So much to say
Hourglass reprieve;
Abruptly cut short
Conversations hurl
Mid-afternoon visit;
Twenty years backlog squeezed
We style a smile
Catch-up with past wit;
Great mileage in minutes
Joy in swift passage
Touching bases now;
Moments in retreat
Leon Enriquez
13 June 2014
Singapore
The cash and carry of love
Which summer doth requisite
When will thou birth me a dove?
Soon autumn will bid for hunt- 5
To gratify winter’s drudge
Oh! Far is the sight of spring
None can pacify better
For season flies without wings
And quick does it charm scald beauty
Of whose time shall be pleaded? 10
As vaguely summer doth leave
Crow beckons with a caw
The womb that is long barren
Whom for eon is not loved
And in earth’s hate it joy is lost 15
Quick drains life off it victim
While heading out to pick up a few groceries
in the Italian Deli ‘Pastosa’ on Richmond Road,
fear grips me as I’ve something that I forgot
and can only be available in other supermarkets
like Pathmark, Waldbaum , Cash and Carry, etc.
These are vegetables, fruit, and other ingredients
reasonably cheap and expected to be fresh;
with all the choices being displayed and shown
hordes of them can delight a lot of customers.
When I got home carrying all those stuffs
my mobile phone rang and it was from someone
whose voice sounded familiar with a sad tone
that a friend of mine had just passed away.
I couldn’t speak nor utter a single word
overwhelmed with sadness and shocking news;
struck me most as I recalled him, his mem’ries
that wrought an opportunity to pray for him.
This prayerful moment addressed to God
made me realize and think all over again
death as a surprise and yet an unspoken fear
for so many who seemed they’re not ready yet.
Between today and tomorrow I might include him
in sacred celebrations with the nuns who always pray,
in deep silence and heightened recollection;
I’d pray for him that eternal rest may be granted to him.
I think back to many a year
when Christmas time was very dear
our tree aglow with lights and fruit
having spent many hours in rubber boots
trudging the woods for that special tree
snow had fallen clear up to our knees
we'd trim and cut then make a stand
our Christmas tree just looked so grand
we dried some fruit that hung with care
even strung popcorn which was very rare
the lighted candles stood so tall
praying each night that they wouldn't fall
our Christmas time so very merry
none of that rush with cash and carry
we had things made like socks an shirts
never worried if the shirt didn't work
stockings were filled with fruit and nuts
we never expected or had very much
oh i think back to toughs wonderful days
wishing many could have seen our ways.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year