An Encounter With A Stray Cat.

I've had just enough time to...   exchange glances with a stray cat.

Taken in Sarawak - Kuching, the City of Cats.

Yeah don't cross my path

I don't bother chasing mice around
I slink down the alley looking for a fight
Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry,
"Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy."

I wish I could be as carefree and wild,
but I got cat class and I got cat style.

Stray Cat Strut by The Stray Cats.

_____

Dedicated to all cat lovers,

An encounter with a stray cat inspires.

What Is This Creature "Sir Tyre?"

I've had just enough time...   to write nonsense rhymes.

When I took this picture, I asked myself "What does it mean?"

 
It looks like Jabba and carries like Birdskin.
It is a cross between an ox and a moron
And fly like a headless cow.
It is the Queen dressed in yellow
With splashes of liquid blue.
It is a bird with skimpy feathers
That chirped “oondi oondi oondi”.
It jumped off a security building
With the bungee cord severed.
It is the exodus of lemmings to the other shore
Where the moon is always full and the grass always green.
It is the ONE ring of misfortune
Stolen by Gollum from the hobbits.
It is the ONE sought in the matrix of
Daytime nightmares and night-time illusion.
It is the sprinkle of magic dust by the Sandman,
Who has his fingers in every purse.
It is the affirmation of the Right Man
Who shackles you with words of the book.
It is the good Doctor who knows exactly
Where he is going but not where he came from.
It is Liberty in a gas mask.
It is patriotism in a flag.
It is a Name in dispute.
It is the Oneness of things, if you say so.
It is nasi lemak wrapped in discarded papers.
It is a critic who can’t read.
It is a DJ who can’t speak.
It is a hollow man with hollow eyes that lit
Up at the only unbanned yellow.
It is a game of cops and robbers, total strangers
Exchanging trousers in the night.
It is a song waiting to be sung
Drowned by Bob Dylan and the Fat lady
Competing over the national anthem.
What is this creature “Sir Tyre”?
You tell me.
I don’t know.

________

 

Zen and the Art of Motocycle Appreciation.

I've had just enough time to...   ride with the wind.

Taken on the Jakarta highway to the North.

I've noticed that people who have never worked with steel have trouble seeing this... that the motorcycle is primarily a mental phenomenon. They associate metal with given shapes... pipes, rods, girders, tools, parts... all of them fixed and inviolable, and think of it as primarily physical. But a person who does machining or foundry work or forge work or welding sees "steel" as having no shape at all. Steel can be any shape you want if you are skilled enough, and any shape but the one you want if you are not.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) - Robert M. Pirsig

_____

What you see is steel.
What he sees is infinite

Shapes waiting to be.

_____

What you see is a motorcycle

What he sees is something indescribable

Something like - love or Zen.

The Colors of Winter.

I've had just enough time to...   witness the colors of winter.

Taken in the ground of Shaolin Temple.

Golden fallen leaves.

The brightest color on that

grey winter evening,

Yesterday When I Was Young.

I've had just enough time to...   make the best of what I have left.

Taken in Bali from a vehicle.

Yesterday when I was young
The taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue.
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game,
The way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame.
The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned
I'd always built to last on weak and shifting sand.
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of the day
And only now I see how the years ran away.

"Yesterday When I Was Young" - Roy Clark

_____

If you're young,

Be careful of how your youth will be spent,

If you're old,

There is too little time left for regret,

Just enough time to -

make the best of what you have.

Even Gods can be Bound by the Humble Vine.

I've had just enough time to...   to free myself from the vine.

Taken among the padi fields in Bali.

Even the Mighty Gods will be bound

By the humble vine

If they stay too long in the same place.

Curiousity Grows The Child.

I've had just enough time to...   let curiousity took hold of me.

Taken at 30,000 feet in the air.

Curiousity may kill the cat,

But curiousity grows the child.

You Can Stand Under My Umbrella.

 

I've just enough time to...   stand under the umbrella.

Taken on top of Kellie's Castle, Kampar.

 
When the sun shines we shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath, I'ma stick it out to the end
Now that it's raining more than ever 

Know that we still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh)

- Rihanna “Umbrella”
_____

Umbrella are made to be shared
Under rainy weather.
You can stand under my umbrella.

Remember The Dark When In The Spotlight.

I've had just enough time to...  momentarily be in the spotlight.

Taken in Shaolin Temple auditorium where monks showed their stuff and you can be under the spotlight for a fee.

The things some people will do -

when in the spotlight.

The things some people will say -

when in the spotlight.

The face some people will show -

when in the spotlight.

But whatever you do, say or show -

in the spotlight.

Remember,

The spotlight is not real and fickle.

The darkness around it, is.

So do not be blinded by the light,

 when in the spotlight.

Laugh At Life.

I've had just enough time to...   laugh at Life.

I laughed when I took this outside Bali airport and the other passengers look at me strangely :)

Sometimes when Life gets so ridiculous,

But we are so ridiculously serious.

That the only thing to do is to see the joke,

And to laugh at it,

And to laugh at us.

Oh My Look At Those Eyes!

I've had just enough time...   to look at those eyes.

Taken when crossing a river in Vietnam.

Oh my look at those eyes
Look at the trouble that they hide inside
I see the flicker of the pain on the rise
Oh my look at those eyes

Maybe they're like mine
Things I wish I did not see
I push away all the dirt and debris
But what'll be left of me

"Look At Those Eyes"- ALEXZ JOHNSON
_____


Oh my look at those eyes
See the hurt they hide inside.
Oh my look at those eyes
Do they look a lot like mine?

Without Words.

I've had just enough time...   to talk without words.

Taken in Kota Kinabalu esplanade.

If you can share a comforting closeness

Without a single word or movement.

 

He is your best friend.

Hope Is A Thing With Feathers.

I've had just enough time...   to let fly a little hope.

Taken in the grounds of Shaolin Temple, China.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all, 

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm. 

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

-"Hope Is A Thing With Feathers", Emily Dickinson.

_____

 

Cast your wish with hope

Let it fly without wings to

Cover a nation.

_____

Every Vote Counts! Yours Will!

Have You Ever Grown A Poison Tree??

I've had just enough time...   to prune a poison tree.

Taken in the foothill of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah.

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe;
I told it not, my wrath did grow. 

And I water'd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with my smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles. 

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine, 

And into my garden stole
When the night had veil'd the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree

- "A Poison Tree", William Blake

_____

Have you ever grown a poison tree 

To poison one of your foe? 

Did it made you happy,

When its poison took hold?
And when you watched him slowly die,
Did it make you feel good inside?

If Life Is A Crooked Bridge.

I've had just enough time...   to walk a crooked bridge.

Taken in Taiping park.

If Life is a crooked bridge,

Can you walk straight?

Will A Name Live Forever?

I've had just enough time...   to try to make a name live longer.

Taken in Taiping's war cemetery.

“Their Name Liveth For Evermore”. 
I don’t believe in that.
A name will live,
For as long as it is remembered.
When it is forgotten.
The name died with the person.

But I do believe,
A Name can outlive a person.

When it is remembered.

Otherwise, a name is just a name.

There Is Nothing Like Walking Among The Dead.

I've had just enough time...   to walk among the dead.

Taken in the war cemetery in Taiping.

 

There is nothing like walking among the graves to still your thoughts. To bring you down to earth. To confront your mortality. To reflect on your life. To review your priorities. To have that peace of mind. 

Knowing that there is one unwavering certainty in this world. That of your death. That makes you ponder – what you want to make of your life. There is nothing like walking among the dead to get your answers for the living.

Try doing that. Alone.

Have You Seen An Orang Utan Dreaming?

I've had just enough time...   to share an orang utan's grief.

Taken in the orang utan island, Bukit Merah.

High above my head,
High on top of a dead tree.
An Orang Utan hang motionlessly.
Was he staring at the sky
Or was he looking at the jungle green
Just beyond the electric fence?

I couldn’t tell.

But what was apparent to me was -
His longing,
His pining,
His dream.

I thought it a great idea. An island reserved specially for orang utan for them to roam free. I gladly paid the RM28 for the boat ride that I was told, helped to maintain their natural habitat. But what I saw shocked me. I saw a small strip of land by the shore barricaded from the jungle. I saw the angry faces of apes with vengeful eyes staring back at us from two layers of fences, one electrified. I saw an orang utan that gave me the same look that Caesar of the “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” did. I saw it throwing an empty coconut husk at us in frustration and anger. I saw baby orang utans in diapers. But the saddest sight and most tragic to me was high above us on top of a dead tree was an orang utan pining for his home. I couldn’t wait to get off the island and away from that cursed place. So if you heard about an island paradise for orang utan in West Malaysia, think twice about going there.

The Hills You Choose To Climb.

I've had just enough time...   to go up Maxwell Hill.

Taken from Maxwell Hill.

Some hills you want to climb
Not because they are higher
Or have more splendid views.

Some hills you want to climb
Because they appeal to you.
But if you’re asked the exact reasons why
You yourself may not have a clue.

Riding The Stone Tortoise.

I've had just enough time...   to see an old man riding a stone tortoise.

An instant shot made inside the Shaolin Temple, China.

It doesn't matter how many years,

Riding a stone tortoise will not get you there.

A Crack In The Iron Bowl.

I've had just enough time...   to see a crack in the iron bowl.

Taken in the Shaolin Temple, China.

My iron bowl may be heavy,

But it won't break, it won't break.

My iron bowl may not be pretty,

But it won't break, it won't break.

My iron bowl may not hold much,

But I don't have to work too hard.

But now there is a crack in my iron bowl,

What to do? What to do? What to do-lah!

The Burden of the Wishing Tree.

I've had just enough time...   to feel the burden of the Wishing Tree.

Taken not far from Shaolin Temple, China.

 

I can feel the burden of Wishing Tree,

Leaden to the ground with the wishes of others.

Its one wish (but no one asked)

Is to be free of these wishes of others.

Waiting For A Flower To Bloom.

I've had just enough time...  to wait for a flower to bloom.

Taken on top Maxwell Hill

Much that you want -

To see a flower.

You must have the patience

To wait for its bloom.

The World Has No Need of Another Peacock.

I've had just enough time...   to accept me for what I am.

Taken on top of Maxwell Hill

 "Dear robin," said this sad young flower,
"Perhaps you'd not mind trying
To find a nice white frill for me,
Some day when you are flying?"

"You silly thing!" the robin said;
"I think you must be crazy!
I'd rather be my honest self
Than any made-up daisy.

 "You're nicer in your own bright gown,
The little children love you;
Be the best buttercup you can,
And think no flower above you.

 "Though swallows leave me out of sight,
We'd better keep our places;
Perhaps the world would all go wrong
With one too many daisies.

 "Look bravely up into the sky,
And be content with knowing
That God wished for a buttercup
Just here, where you are growing."
"Discontent" - Sarah Orne Jewett

I learn to appreciate

What I am.

A tiny flower

With a tenacity to grow

On hard surfaces.

Patriotism Is Not...

I've had just enough time...   to appeal others to vote.

Taken in Taiping

Patriotism is not about waving a flag aimlessly.

At the very least,

It is exercising your right -

To VOTE!

UNDILAH! (Please VOTE!)

Loneliness Is An Empty Chair.

I've had just enough time...   to deal with loneliness.

Taken uner the rain trees  in Taiping

"I am," I said
To no one there
An no one heard at all
Not even the chair
"I am," I cried
"I am," said I
And I am lost, and I can't even say why
Leavin' me lonely still

- Neil Diamond

___
 
When you walk too fast
You left everyone behind.
And when you look back
No one is following
And you’re alone at the end of an empty street

Shall Earth No More Inspire Thee.

I've had just enough time...   to seek new fire.

Taken on top of Maxwell Hill

"Shall earth no more inspire thee,
Thou lonely dreamer now?
Since passion may not fire thee,
Shall nature cease to bow?

Thy mind is ever moving,
In regions dark to thee;
Recall its useless roving,
Come back, and dwell with me."

- Emily Bronte

___


A long, hard, battle had been fought.
Now that it was won, I felt strangely depleted,
And lonelier still.
Who understand these battle scars?

No one, I am sure.
There is little battle left in me,
But more fights to be had.
I’ve lost my fire
And need it to continue…

First Taste Is Like First Love.

I've had just enough time...   to taste Taiping popiah again.

Taken in Taiping, of course!

 

First taste is like first love,

You can revisit it.

But it never taste quite the same.

Like if there is something missing.

Or is it you, your taste

Or the food has changed?

The Hidden Gate.

I've had just enough time...   to look for the hidden gate.

Taken from a hotel window in Penang

If you look -

Only at the obvious,

You will miss the hidden gate.