叶子 - Leaves

I've had just enough time to...   be thankful for leaves

Taken in the garden village of Sungei Buloh, Malaysia

I was in the town of Sungei Buloh (River of Bamboo) shopping for orchids before the Chinese New Year. In those old less enlightened days, this place was used to isolate a leper colony from the general populace. A vocation was needed for these displaced people and in an ironic way, growing flowers and plants was the profession chosen for them. Now it is a thriving town engaged predominantly in the gardening business. The city has expanded and engulfed the area making it a very valuable real estate. Now, those once shunted lepers and their descendants are not only businessmen and women but also millionaires putting a final irony to the Town of The River of Bamboo.

Everyone was looking down because there were flowers in glorious bloom everywhere. On both sides of the small lane, on every multiple racks, in every stall and corners, any space that can be squeezed in, flowers of all varieties and colors and forms smiled back at you. But my attention was up, at that wondrous spread of rain tree branches and the millions of tiny leaves blinking at me. Whenever the wind stirred, a few shook themselves from the branches and floated down in an erratic but graceful dance to join the other fallen leaves on the roof. 

I love flowers but it was the leaves that talked to me that day.  And leaves always reminded me of that sad song  叶子yèzi (Leaf ). I heard that haunting voice as I stood by the road shoulder looking up feeling deliciously sad while boisterous trading were happening all round me. And what made it even more poignant is that I will never hear her singing a new song again. '阿桑' (Ah Sang) had a hard life. She was discovered singing in a pub and “Leaf” made her famous. Just when it appeared that Life is finally giving her the break she deserved, she quietly left the entertainment scene. Not long later, the world was shocked to learn that she has succumbed to breast cancer. She was only 34.

叶子                                                                         Leaves

阿桑                                   Ah Sang

叶子 是不会飞翔的翅膀                   Leaves are wings that cannot fly

翅膀是落在天上的叶子                    Wings are leaves dropped in the sky

天堂 原来应该不是妄想                  Heaven is not wishful thinking after all

只是我早已经遗忘                           It's just I've forgotten long ago

当初怎么开始飞翔                           How it is then, I could fly

孤单 是一个人的狂欢                      Loneliness is the reverly of the lonely

狂欢是一群人的孤单                       Reverly is the loneliness of the crowd

爱情 原来的开始是陪伴                 Love has its beginning in togetherness

但我也渐渐地遗忘                           But I've gradually forgotten

当时是怎样有人陪伴                       How it is I had you for company

我一个人吃饭旅行                           Now I eat and travel alone

到处走走停停                                  Wandering aimlessly

也一个人看书写信                           I read and write alone

自己对话谈心                                  With myself, conversing

只是心又飘到了哪里                       But where is my heart floating to?

就连自己看也看不清                       I can't see clearly

我想我不仅仅是失去你                  Just feel it is not only you I lost

The Girl In The Middle Of The Road

I've has just enough time to...   see that girl in the middle of the road

Taken of the girl in the middle of the road on the way to Anyang, China

On a hot summer’s day

In the middle of the road

Large vehicles churning dusts

And belching smokes

There she stood

Last night was tough

Sleep still in her eyes

She let out a mighty yawn

Sucking in hot air and dust

Eyes starting to smart

Why does she do what she does?

Is it by choice she stays in the middle of the road

Surrounded by rushing vehicles and dirty smokes?

_______

Hey, don't write yourself off yet

It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on

Just do your best, do everything you can

And don't you worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say

It just takes some time 

Little girl you're in the middle of the ride 

Everything, everything will be just fine 

Everything, everything will be alright, alright

Jimmy East World – Little Girl In The Middle Of The Ride

The Song of the Lonely Drinker

I've had just enough time to...   drink alone

Taken while sitting outside a pub in Kuching with the moon and others for company

I’m a lonely drinker

Making toasts to myself

And the ghost across the table

The ghost nods with its glass

Empty it in silent acknowledgement

And no advice for me

Nor do I have need of any, for

In the company of sympathetic ghosts

Who needs noise and companions?

Drinking is best done alone

Drinking is best done alone

In one’s own company

Loneliness flavored the wine unlike any

It is silly to drink to be happy

Silly to try to drown anything

The only reason to drink is to make -

Loneliness a pleasant company

The Inspiration of Taiping Lake Garden - Part I

I've had just enough time to...   revisit Taiping Lake Garden

The beauty and serenity of Taiping Lake Garden and its town has inspired many of my posts. After the last post regarding the controversy surrounding the rain trees of the garden, I decided to revisit them and invite you to visit them together with me. (Click on the link to access any of the post)

“First Taste is Like First Love” 

The town is reputed to have the best “popiah” in the country. But it taste different from my distant memory so I compare it against first love.

“Loneliness Is an Empty Chair”

There is something very sad about empty benches and these row of empty benches under the ancient rain trees seemed so melancholy to me.

“Patriotism Is Not…”

 The political scene in the country is depressing with politicians trying to determine for us what patriotism is. I wanted to tell them what patriotism is not! The photo is taken in the museum near the lake.

“There is Nothing Like Walking among the Dead”

As much as the area surrounding the lake is beautiful, there are also quiet places that you can visit for reflection like the war cemetery. Don’t think me odd until you have taken a walk with the dead.

“Will A Name Live Forever?”

As I read the names and inscriptions on the tombstones, I wonder how long will a name live?  If it is carved in stone, will it live forever?

“If Life Is A Crooked Bridge”

I came across a crooked bridge in the garden and was confronted with this question “If Life is a crooked bridge, can you walk straight?”

What Is This Creature “Sir Tyre?” 

Upset by the political scene, I was inspired to write a satire. If you are Malaysian, you should be able to understand at least some of the allusion. I was looking for an image to go along with it when I thought this in front of the Taiping museum appropriate.

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…