In this memory, I’m five years old, visiting the local art gallery with my mother and brother for a regular weekend picnic. After the main picnic in the garden, there is one more place my mother takes us to that I look forward to. It’s a children’s playroom. But not like the ones you find […]
It came to you to teach you happinessBut you were sad it left youYou mourned the loss in tears It came to show you your potentialBut you were angry it caused you painYou cursed the misery in resentment It came to help your healingBut you were mad at their attitudeYou listed their shortcomings in detail
Focused on the Wrong Thing Read More »
In this memory, I’m five years old. I’m visiting the local art gallery near my home for a weekend picnic with my mother and little brother. Right inside the entrance, in the middle of the hallway, is a large bronze statue that looks like an egg. The egg is tilted ever so slightly as if
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I’m thirteen in this memory. On weekend mornings, I eat my breakfast watching a TV. After a few news programs, documentary programs come on, and I continue watching for some time even after I finish eating my meal. One day, a documentary program takes me to an old lady living in a beautiful house in
Lasting Inspiration Read More »
Walking on a cliffScared you might fallYou close your eyesBut don’tNot before you seeWhat lies beneath youAnd realizeIt’s not a cliff butA staircase at your home An uneasy conversationFrightened you are trappedYou take offBut don’tNot before you seeWhat’s happening around youAnd realizeWhat you were hearingWas a memory of an old conversation Keep your eyes openUntil
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When I was about fifteen, one day, my maternal grandmother was visiting my home and we were chatting when she mentioned how as she grew older, she found certain physical activities difficult. “For example, I find jumping hard these days,” she said. “When I follow the exercise program on the radio, when it’s time to
In late summer when I was eight, one day, my father and I made a daytrip to a mountain not too far from our town. Prior to our departure, there was a minor quarrel between my parents. The place my father had picked was a trail along a river in a cave, and my mother
The Funny Mountain Read More »
In this memory, I’m five. My two-year-old brother learns how to read, and now, he has a few favourite picture books he likes to read out loud. Whenever he is not playing with his toy buses, he goes to the backroom of our apartment and pulls out a book from the shelf. “Nontan, let me
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DisconnectThat’s what it isThere is before and afterBut nothing in between No, that’s not trueThere is something thereBut you can’t see itNo matter how close you look Where something once existedThere is now absenceWhere nothing used to existThere is now new presence And you’re left wonderingWhat really happenedHow it happenedAnd what is yet to happen
I’m three in this memory. In August, my new-born brother comes out of ICU after his heart surgery, and because my parents need to focus on his care, I’m sent to my maternal grandmother to spend three weeks with her family. At her house, everybody wants to know about my brother’s condition. They ask my
