stroke

my hand against hers

the agony of not understanding and
not being understood

piercing gaze
from her wrinkled face
empty and going right through my heart

i see the
pain
she cannot see

laughing at nothing to laugh about
delays sadness

dear doctor

morbidity fascinates you
nothing is scary anymore
as you pull apart the body
to fix it
you know you can put it back
stitch it up
close the wound

transactions

a poet
buys time
with rhyme
buys space
with his face
buys love
with a dove

Returning Home

my mum first remarks
that i've grown fatter
then an aunty
then my dentist
and some friends too

well, maybe not "fatter"
but that i've gained weight

it's like when i was young
each year
relatives i see only during chinese new year
gush over how i'm so much taller
bigger than the last time
they saw me
gesturing with horizontal hand motions

i guess in singapore
everyone wants to see you grow
or maybe we're all concerned
that land is scarce
and sea levels are overflowing