Thu | Mar 28, 2024

Poems

Published:Sunday | February 23, 2020 | 12:20 AM
Abuse
Abuse

Black and blue

He loses his fuses

And abuses with his fists clenched

For his anger pours

To have his thirst quenched

His temper reacts to

his impulsive and obscene curse

His fear will tear through your face and hair

He is not worth the need for your love nor care

For this core of force

Is not something you were born for

Open your eyes and mind and remove the muffs,

This rough "cruff" is taking far more than enough

For you to stay and drain your life away

A gun butt here and throw down there

A slap in the face with a board to instil fear

A locked grill with a sinister thrill

A big blow and here he goes

Putting his hands around your neck

A daunting and appalling sign of disrespect

That leaves your body with marks and specks

Young girl …

Hear the truth

Even though, its tempting to refute

Be strong and be through,

Walk away from this black and blue.

– Angela Yap Chung

# # #

Don’t leave!

Only your parents you leave and promised you would cleave

“Bone of my bone”, you said, and couldn’t help but wed

Are we severed now? But wait!

Death didn’t sting yet you want to put on wing!

“Flesh of my flesh”, I need you near

Where would you go if not in here?

Rose petals, chocolate, whipped cream with an undefiled bed;

Don’t go but stay instead.

My heart moved to the tune of your words

Yet you hush and cause it to curd

But your sweetness I want to be transferred.

My apologies may not erase the hurtful pain I’ve caused

But I want to nurse you back to my heart

Let me make haste to undo the waste so we can replace

That awesome taste when you place your love where it belongs.

Twain becomes one yet you want to put asunder

God’s perfect plan you want to blunder

Please reconsider and let us weather

The storm of life together

Don’t leave, let’s cleave!

– Marie T. Henry

# # #

My last night on the mountain

The colourful light of sunset drops out of sight.

And the dull shade of night fills the sky.

This is my last walk through the rocky paths.

My eyes will gaze at the fruitful valley below.

I shall sit on top of the white gravestone.

And I shall have silent moments of meditation.

My heart is well at home here on the mountain.

I stare in awe at the magnificent heavens.

And I feel so close to Jehovah, the source of life.

The thin, cool air is flowing through my lungs

While I am humming a sacred melody.

I tell the distant stars in the black space my story.

On the crest of the mount I find contentment.

I stretch out my hands towards the celestial bodies.

And it appears that I am touching the full moon.

I treasure my last few hours alone on the mountain.

My soul delights in the quiet surroundings.

This is where I sincerely want to live and die.

Daybreak will bring sadness to my heart.

My good spirit will end when the sun rises.

Tomorrow I must go back to an inconvenient place.

Noisy, contentious people await me there.

I pray that I may stay here on the mountain.

Oh Lord, let me live among the flora and fauna.

Though my eyes are getting weary,

I must not fall asleep and lose the tranquillity.

The crack of dawn will soon appear.

And my paradise will not exist anymore.

I shall miss the songs of the crickets,

The twinkling bioluminescence of the fireflies,

And the frequent hooting of the owls.

How I treasure my last night on the mountain!

The rural terrain pleases me more than the city.

But I shall never set foot on this land again.

This is my last night free from pain and stress,

My last night of solitude and satisfaction,

And my last night of peaceful rest on the mountain.

– Marlon Pitter