Blast fr the Past! II

Oh no, it's the end of the month! I've been maintaining 4 posts a month steadily since i've created tis realm now, n im one short tis month. Here's my last chance to post before the turn of the calendar n erm.. if u notice the title, it's another "Blast fr the Past!" episode, meaning i've run out of inspiration again ahahaha.. i still cant write naturally like the way Jingyu or Wanhui write, their recurring inspiration for poems n songs never fails to impress me.

Anyway, in tis episode of "Blast fr the Past!", i wanna share wif u guys the first two poems which i wrote when i began at the beginning of JC. Both were inspired by songs by the Hongkong band "Beyond" (nothing beats old-sch rock bands, those were the days..). At the time i was v intrigued by them, Jingyu too, n we often sang their songs in our favourite hideout in sch (we even named our hideout "Beyond Paradise"). My very first poem was written for a red-haired girl in sch named Sherrie, whom i had a crush on at tt time (yes, "crush" not "love". Tis probably has got something to do wif the fact tt i've never had female classmates b4). Why was i fond of her? Hmm.. i guess it was becos she was pretty. And.. erm.. cool. Yeah. Alright, I guess we were all shallow ppl at some point in our youth. Anyway, would it make it easier for u to forgive me if i told u she was the most beautiful girl i ever seen? For the three months she was in TJC, there were four guys after her (and tt's only as far as i know). I dunno how she was inside though, i dun think she was an angel beneath all the gloss. But u know, how our emotions can deceive us. I didn't give Sherrie tis poem in the end, i didnt think she will like me. And i think im digressing.


Railways

I wish these few months will never end,
A journey wifout a destination.
I wish i could hold ya hand,
N u tell me im ya final station.


The 2nd poem is totally unrelated to any real event in my life.


Crossroads

Time and land r flowing,
Diaries our pens r writing,
Passed the boisterous nite,
How will dawn feel like?

Yesterday's dreams n ambitions,
Lost in today's situations,
R we still fearless,
Faced wif reality's cutlass?

There r times i feel redundant.
There r reasons to be despondent.

At the crossroads, who will walk wif me?
Recall times forgotten,
So far i've gone, there's no return.


Both poems were typed out fr my memory, fresh as yesterday :) Though clumsy, im proud of them. Do u remb ya first poems?

Preludes

Preludes

Book I of the Lion Chronicles

____________

Letter I

From Ekemet, a djinn bard, at Emberwilde Inn, in Kaf, the realm of djinns and efreets, to his wife in Femeref.

My Dear Jorael,

I received your letter yesterday, and was glad to know that our darling girl Panya has gotten such a good place in Femeref and likes her new mistress so well. Know that I don’t grumble about the gold that’s spent in sending you with Panya to take care of her. Poor child, she was too young to be trusted to make this journey to the world of humans alone. Naturally, you were the best person, to go with Panya—whose wellbeing is more precious to us than any gold. Besides, when I married you, I had promised you a trip someday to see the splendorous capital of the human kingdom. Finally, that promise has been fulfilled. So, once again, don’t fret about the gold that’s been spent, I shall soon repay it.

When you left, you know how bad the business at The Dancing Scimitar was getting. It was so bad that I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be better if I try my luck singing at Emberwilde Inn?” I flew there straight away, and, thank God, have got on well there. And now, I come to some strange news.

The third afternoon after you left, a young human came to the inn. He looked very pale and his clothes were wind blasted, and he asked for a bed. Before the landlady could answer, he got faint all of a sudden. He was so faint and ill, that I felt obliged to lend a hand in getting him upstairs. The next morning, I heard he was worse, and it was just the same story the morning after. He pretty much worried the landlady, being so restless a soul and talking to himself with strange mannerism, especially when night falls. He wouldn’t say what the matter was with him, or who he was, we could only find out that he had been stopping among the fishing folk further west and they had not behaved very well to him (shame on them, and fellow humans too!) Well, we djinns can never understand the afflictions of flesh, so in the end I went and fetched a medicine man for him. When we got into his room, we found him all pale and unmoving, and looking at the ceiling blankly, as if his soul was in some faraway plane. The medicine man described his condition with some hard names which I can’t remember, but it seems the illness is one of the mind rather than the physical shell, and that he must have been through some great shock which shattered his reality. The only way to do him good, as the medicine man said, was to have him carefully nursed by people he knew; familiar faces around him will likely draw his mind back to the real world. The medicine man asked where his family lived, but he wouldn’t speak to us. And lately, he’s gotten so much worse that he doesn’t seem to be listening to us anymore when we speak to him.

Yesterday evening, he gave us all a fright. The medicine man, hearing me below, asking after him, told me to come up the stairs to help move him to have his bed made. As soon as I raised him up (though I’m sure I touched him as gently as I could), he fainted dead away. While he was being attended to, a shiny object fell from the chain around his neck. Upon a closer look, it seemed to me that it was a small angel figurine crafted from some sort of crystal. Now, there are no angels in Kaf, or in Femeref, or in any other places in this part of the world. I recalled the alien accent with which he spoke when I first met him in the inn and I am sure that this young man must be from some distant kingdom across the Eternal Seas. I picked the crystal angel up, for I remembered the time, Jorael, when you and I were courting, and how precious the least thing given to me by you was. So I took care of it for him, thinking it might be a keepsake from his sweetheart. And sure enough, when he came to, he put his thin white hand to his neck, and looked at me in silent gratitude when I connected the little thing to his chain again. Just as I had done that, the medicine man beckons me to the other end of the room.

“This won’t do,” he whispered to me. “If he goes on like this, he’ll lose his reason, if not his life. I must search his backpack, to find out what friends he has, and you must help me.”

So the medicine man searched through his belongings, and among them was a crumpled tome. It is certainly arcane, for I sensed the wild electricity of magic sealed within its cluttered pages. The medicine man sensed it too, for he stared at me for a short while before placing the tome carefully on the floor. The young man was looking at us all the while without any trace of emotion on his visage; he didn’t seem to care for we were doing. Next, the medicine man found three letters tied together. Well, the medicine man said there was no reason to open them, for the direction on all the letters was the same and the name corresponded with his initials marked on his vest.

“I’m certain this is where he lived, so this is where I’ll write to,” said the medicine man.

“Shall my wife take the letter, Sir?” I said. “She’s in Femeref with our fledging, Panya.”

“Excellent, Ekemet!” he said; “we’ll do just that. Write to your wife and put my letter inside yours.”

Now, Jorael, dear, go at once and see what you can find out. Let us know directly what luck you have had, for there is no time to be lost.

This has become such a long letter, that I have no room left to write anymore. God bless you, Jorael, and God bless my darling Panya! Give her a kiss for father’s sake, and believe me,

Your loving husband,

Ekemet.

Stardust in the city

Yesterday evening, i went out wif Zhaolin, my buddy fr SYFC. We bought Subway sandwiches n sat by the river beside the Esplanade. In the sunset, the river shimmered wif an orange glow while the city slowly cloaked itself in a lilac nightgown. Children were running about playing, as their young parents strolled behind leisurely. Boatmen waved to the many tourists, n persuaded them to tour the city by a watery path. In the lovely dusk, Zhaolin n me munched on our sandwiches n chat of ministry, sch life n his love life.

Wif respect to the last of the above topics, our conversation went along the lines of:

"Eh Zhaolin?"
"What?"
"So how, u gonna chase her or forever steal peeks of her fr behind the nearest pillar?"
"Actually.. steal peeks of her fr behind the furthest pillar."
"........
Can I see her photo?"
"Nope."
"Why not??"
"So that next time if i change crush u won't know. Then u'll think im single-minded n love the same girl for so long."
"........"

As we talked on, the first stars appeared in the sky. It suddenly struck us how enchanting the city-scape was at night. The high-rise buildings in all its daunting majesty in the day, could not hope to compete wif its own velvety beauty in the night. Ah, the city. The glossy heart of the business world. Who would have tot there's another side to it?

But we were in for another wonder. To our utter amazement, the night exploded in brilliant light n sound. Fireworks! We gaze on in speechless awe as the stardust showered onto the river, onto the city, n onto the hearts of the people watching.

I've made a video clip the fireworks wif my Palmtop. It couldn't capture the splendid scene adequately of cos. Nevertheless, here is the link.

To _______ ( I softly know.. )

Though words are absent,
I know how you idealise,
How you dream of me day and night,
And wish dreams realise.

Though in wistful silence,
I hear your glass heart falter.
And I, of all people,
Am the guilty afflicter.

Let not your affection dwell,
On one such as I.
Daily I selfishly occupy,
Your cares and your time.

Let not you, your tears repress,
It’s fine to cry.
For down Life’s bends, will arrive,
Someday, a loving guy.