Angelina Bong, Malaysia
White petals fall on wet ground,
the view is clear up high
with transparent umbrella dotted
with pearl glass raindrops. Buds
sprouting everywhere, like children ready
to make their way into the world.
Teenagers these days
are given eye jobs as Christmas gifts,
more common now than ever.
Would you tell a lily
to be a rafflesia or a magpie
to be a hornbill? If cherry blossoms
despise their fair meekness and long
to exude the sexiness of a red rose,
we will lose more than a nation.
Drizzles slow down, but crystal tears
continue hanging on every branch,
crying for every soul under the knife.
Written during a writing residency in Toji Cultural Foundation, South Korea, April 2018.
Angelina Bong is a Malaysian poet and visual artist with a background in Fashion. She has read and performed in South Korea, Malaysia, South Africa, Botswana, UK, Australia, India and Egypt. Some of her poems have been translated into Korean, Malayalam, Japanese, French, Arabic and Malay. She is published online and in print including several poetry festival anthologies. Her first solo Art & Poetry exhibition abroad was held after completing a 7 weeks writing-art residency in Toji Cultural Foundation, South Korea in April 2018. She chirps on Twitter and Instagram at @swakgel