Long Casuarina Poems

III

This is the land of the convectional rains
Which vie on the monsoon back scrubbing streets
This is the land at half-past four
The rainbow rubs the chilli face of the afternoon
And an evening-morning pervades the dripping, weeping
Rain...

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Hush now, the hills lean close in, 
cradling the town in green-field arms.
The houses huddle, blinking from night lit rooms,
beneath a dawn that warns shepherds of storms,
As I lay me down in the lay of...

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Art gallery glimpses
Posters on walls;
Unfamiliar insights

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Fresh good market
Country festival;
Abundant fruits

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Young child escorted
Proud parents each side;
Nurture greets nature

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Roasted meat stall
Duck, chicken, BBQ pork;
Appetizing fares

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Pay day queue
Busy ATM buzz;
Cash flow escapades

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Sleepy moments
Heavy eyelids flutter;
Bedtime stories

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Quizzical notions
Unanswered query;
Planning-in-progress

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Chinese...

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“Cambodia is
Cambodia but not really
Cambodia.”
That’s what some say
As the years roll on
Forty years or so since Pol Pot and his pals posted
‘Year 0”, 
Sent the whole thing to the wash,
 And it came out 
Red.

So...

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I was once yours

Take this photo for instance...a toothless girl on the back of two legs.
The folded side is you!

That day we shared an ice cake sitting on the bench.
Then I went running, shooing the...

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Dewdrops sparkle
In blurry light;
Grass veiled in mist


Violet flower buds
Props on climbers;
Fence garlands display


Moments here
Lingering softly;
Awaiting sunrise


Sanguine sensations
Tender touch of August;
Rain quenching dry earth


Saturday styles
National Day rehearsal;
Road block barricades


Crowded congestion
Marina Bay Floating Platform;
Final Preview commotion


Rise to...

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Two young lovers
Seeing eye to eye;
Ecstatic romance


Promises made
Language of love;
Reality can be harsh


July sun-bathing
Local fruitage surprise:
Durians, mangosteens, rambutans!


Two yellow butterflies
Zigzagging flight path;
Bourgainvillea landing


Sweet nectar sip
Momentary focus;
Long haul to tall casuarina


Old banyan tree witness
School boy quarrels...

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Sufficient hydration, she descended the sub-alpine track, distinctive inferno pine scent and the casuarina fragrance formed a perfume mix.

Arriving at a large rock, immediately crashes gently, her limbic suspension of both hands as a neutralizer...

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I did not think you knew what an azimuth was, I said to Guy.
“I am not a Neolithic,” he told me with a sniff, I know why…
Some people misjudge this brilliant child of two months...

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Mandurah, cruises, jingle bells,
The lake house splendor in shooting stars dwell,
Tremendous Christmas without snow, implicitly the stunner glide,
Black phantom unveil the cloak of his clandestine pride,

Scintillation gigantic Casuarina Equisetifolia ornament tree,
Embellish the solitude's dew which...

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SNAGGED
We trod the dusty path home from school, mottled 
with casuarina shadows.
Gurgling ripples gave way to deep pools, my brother
skipping stones. 

Khaki Campbell ducks  brought chuckles. 
Tipping back their heads, 
water dripped from beaks,...

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Journeys begin
Watch pulse of heart;
Intent conspires


Old Casuarina tree
By school compound;
Witness to history


Stormy morning
Thunder and lightning;
Moody weather lashing


My old school dome
Now a museum;
To cement yesterday


Book shop retreat
Between covers;
Too much to know


Tour agency desk
Brisk bookings;
Now here or...

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Witness to secrets
Ancient casuarina tree
By old school field


Witness to naughty boys
Mischievous fooling around
By that football field


Witness to so many
School day conversations
By these common corridors


Witness to the crazy games
Cheeky stuff about pretty girls
By the city thoroughfare


Witness...

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