under the same sky

the faces that look into the past
are telling their story
into the present
under the same sky
since the beginning of time

these giant stone faces of Bayon was taken in May 2007

blue and orange brown

on the line
between the sky
and the sand
they sit

with every line
in the conversation
evaporating away
in the scorching heat

the distant laughter
has melted
to quench
the thirst

far above
from the madding crowd
they wait to exchange for
something

other than
the blue
and orange
brown

this shot was taken at Mui Ne, Vietnam in May 2007

ballon girl

the balloons
dance above the crowd
in the air

she moves
and searches
through the noise
for the laughter of children
to paint her days
orange, red, blue, yellow, pink,
green and sometimes grey

for a living
she moves and searches
through the street
into the nights

a boy stops her
points to the yellow, the green, then the orange
and finally the blue

joy lights up
on their faces

the blue ballon
dances above the boy

and the balloons
dance above the crowd
in the air
into the nights
amidst the demands of the day

this shot was taken in Đà Lạt, Vietnam in May 2007

Under the Crescent Moon

The sinking sun gives the cue
The ridge lines run

From mountain to mountain

On these lines
The pine trees stand still

Between the trees
A crescent moon drifts

Under the crescent moon
My hope hangs

When the moon is full
My hope shall float

Inspired by the culture and heritage of the Arab World and Turkey, written during a symposium on ICT and Education: International directions in research and application, 2pm to 3.30pm on 24 April 2007.

She lies there with her past

Mouth open wide
Head to the sky
Tilted at a side

Eyeballs roll up
Towards her scalp
Dust on her hair
She offers a tacit prayer

As her whole shell
Concaves
Her hollow mind
Becomes an empty hallway

Sending echoes
From her footsteps of self-pity
they swallow her, they follow her
Into eternity

Waiting for death
To consume her past
As guilt keeps dripping
From the upper bulb of the hourglass

Her thoughts are sand
Shifting uneasily, she knows
When the bulb runs empty
And so shall her soul be


Inspired by a picture from the Geographical Magazine on 11 April 2007 and written on the next morning.

Dance of a Tumbleweed

The wind cries
In the deep blue sky
Bidding the dance to begin
Imbuing the days ahead
With hues from a old vague dream

Too vague to remember
The leaves tinged red in November
Were once emerald green
No one recalls
The rhythm pulsating life into the dead
Dried up stream

There is only the sun-bruised and desiccated mind

Bobbing on the sea of ignorance
Like an aimless fishing float in the naked ocean
Up and down and up and down

In rolling, it rolls
In dancing, it dances
In tumbling, it tumbles
Till the wind dies down


Inspired by the tumbleweed picture and written on 4 April 2007.

The Porridge and I

My back facing
Where the sun
Is rising

With a spoon
In my hand
I fed myself

A bowl of chicken porridge
Alone
In the crowd


Inspired by the time at canteen A and written on 2 April 2007.

Cold Fire

Light
a cold fire,
by my soul.

Let it burn
till my heart
is frozen.

Inspired by the emergency exercise in JWPS and recorded on 1 April 2007.