NEW YEAR'S
POETRY
Overreaction
by Andrea Law
by Andrea Law
Essence
by Claire
by Claire
<nirvana>
by Trinity
by Trinity
pedestals.
by Loryn
by Loryn
poetry
OVERREACTION
|
Over complicate, over simplify
Overstate, over quantify
Overqualitate, over accentuate
Over analyse, overlook
Overcomplicate analytical algorithms,
Over conscious of media overconsumption
“Overeating, overbearing, overweight”
Over complicate over organised boxes of information
Mind a minefield of oversaturation.
Overhangs of overcounted mess,
Overcorrect oversimplified thoughts,
Overrule rationality with over sensitiveness,
Overshadow passion with accomplishments,
Overstress- mind wears thin.
Overharvest the fruits of our labour bearing no seeds,
Overhyped overindulgences,
Overstock warehouses of information,
Overstrain the backs of show horses,
Oversubscribe to underused gym memberships.
Take pride in overtaking on over walked paths,
‘A’ an oversight,
‘A+’ overpraised.
Oversexualise overexposed breasts,
Blame overexposed shoulders,
Enforce over strict dress codes,
Over conceal rape culture,
Overenforce on the girls,
A pitiful oversight.
Overindulge in overinflated luxuries,
Overmanage micromanaged details,
Stay up overnight with the concept of anxiety,
Over persuade stubborn minds
Overpower personal opinion,
Overspeculate once again.
Overstate, over quantify
Overqualitate, over accentuate
Over analyse, overlook
Overcomplicate analytical algorithms,
Over conscious of media overconsumption
“Overeating, overbearing, overweight”
Over complicate over organised boxes of information
Mind a minefield of oversaturation.
Overhangs of overcounted mess,
Overcorrect oversimplified thoughts,
Overrule rationality with over sensitiveness,
Overshadow passion with accomplishments,
Overstress- mind wears thin.
Overharvest the fruits of our labour bearing no seeds,
Overhyped overindulgences,
Overstock warehouses of information,
Overstrain the backs of show horses,
Oversubscribe to underused gym memberships.
Take pride in overtaking on over walked paths,
‘A’ an oversight,
‘A+’ overpraised.
Oversexualise overexposed breasts,
Blame overexposed shoulders,
Enforce over strict dress codes,
Over conceal rape culture,
Overenforce on the girls,
A pitiful oversight.
Overindulge in overinflated luxuries,
Overmanage micromanaged details,
Stay up overnight with the concept of anxiety,
Over persuade stubborn minds
Overpower personal opinion,
Overspeculate once again.
ESSENCE
|
Red surrounds me.
As I stand awkwardly, red faced.
$80 Cheong Sam trying its best to be red carpet worthy
Worn once, forgotten after.
Chinatown
Stall owners shouting their prices
A cloud of sweat, a tangle of bodies
Chinese New Year songs butchered
For advertisements that I still can’t seem to forget
Even though they were aired eons ago
Maybe Chinese New Year is just another marketing fad
Over capitalised, a mere tool for scheming businessmen
Chinese New Year: a day for togetherness or a day to be taken advantage of?
Yet at my uncle's house
Where everyone gets together
Cracking jokes and enjoying New Year goodies
The smiles around me convince me that
Maybe it still hasn’t lost its Essence.
As I stand awkwardly, red faced.
$80 Cheong Sam trying its best to be red carpet worthy
Worn once, forgotten after.
Chinatown
Stall owners shouting their prices
A cloud of sweat, a tangle of bodies
Chinese New Year songs butchered
For advertisements that I still can’t seem to forget
Even though they were aired eons ago
Maybe Chinese New Year is just another marketing fad
Over capitalised, a mere tool for scheming businessmen
Chinese New Year: a day for togetherness or a day to be taken advantage of?
Yet at my uncle's house
Where everyone gets together
Cracking jokes and enjoying New Year goodies
The smiles around me convince me that
Maybe it still hasn’t lost its Essence.
RESOLUTIONS
|
As seconds
Spill into the new year like
Sticky dribbles of champagne over glass rims,
Humans shriek.
All around them, the night is still,
Eyeing the creatures that squawk their delirium into the dark,
Stubbornly nocturnal.
New year, new me.
One begins to chant,
And the rest bob their heads in assent,
Hen-like in their vacuousness.
With that, the ritual may commence.
I want to be fit this year.
Each takes his turn to loose his desire into the wind, while the others,
Vampiric,
Siphon off his conviction.
I want to earn more cash.
Teeth are bared into grins like splintered wood.
I want to gain more knowledge.
Sharks emerge from beneath watery eyes.
I want to be successful.
The bipeds sway,
Enraptured by the melody
Of hunger.
After they leave to resume their
worldly activities,
It is twelve moons until
They return.
Too soon, the night watches again as
The seconds pool and rise towards
An invisible edge.
The animals, full from stuffing themselves with meat and yet ravenous,
Prowl among themselves,
Cooing,
Did you do it?
Have you achieved?
Your resolution, is it complete?
Disappointment escapes in a whisper of breath,
And as the first droplets of time trickle down,
Voices are purring
Next year, next year.
Spill into the new year like
Sticky dribbles of champagne over glass rims,
Humans shriek.
All around them, the night is still,
Eyeing the creatures that squawk their delirium into the dark,
Stubbornly nocturnal.
New year, new me.
One begins to chant,
And the rest bob their heads in assent,
Hen-like in their vacuousness.
With that, the ritual may commence.
I want to be fit this year.
Each takes his turn to loose his desire into the wind, while the others,
Vampiric,
Siphon off his conviction.
I want to earn more cash.
Teeth are bared into grins like splintered wood.
I want to gain more knowledge.
Sharks emerge from beneath watery eyes.
I want to be successful.
The bipeds sway,
Enraptured by the melody
Of hunger.
After they leave to resume their
worldly activities,
It is twelve moons until
They return.
Too soon, the night watches again as
The seconds pool and rise towards
An invisible edge.
The animals, full from stuffing themselves with meat and yet ravenous,
Prowl among themselves,
Cooing,
Did you do it?
Have you achieved?
Your resolution, is it complete?
Disappointment escapes in a whisper of breath,
And as the first droplets of time trickle down,
Voices are purring
Next year, next year.
<nirvana>
|
someone told me,
that the feeling of déjà vu
wasn’t just a myth.
you were probably in the same place this whole time,
wandering.
thinking you made progress.
but you were just going in circles.
i stumbled across a pit stop.
i turned off the engine,
i stepped out of my car,
slowly starting to fill up the gas.
and i drove away,
to which the road sign said,
in slightly scratched off white paint,
2 more miles ahead.
i sigh,
i know i will be back.
somehow, somewhere.
but maybe not there.
i idyllically walked into a pit stop,
where a little shop sat beside the road.
in the midst of my euphoria,
while stifling a fit of giggles,
i paid for my bottle of beer.
and i stumble out of there,
to which the cashier mumbled,
you forgot your change,
20 cents, he said.
i laugh,
i know i will be back.
somehow, somewhere,
but maybe not here,
where it seems so blurred.
i find myself at the back of the car.
i see my friends shouting ‘ road trip! ‘
i notice that in my left hand,
a cooler.
perhaps we‘re going somewhere to have some fun.
and i looked at the person beside me,
to which he said,
i don’t think i know you.
he was around 50 years aged.
that’s when it hit me, he wasn’t my friend.
and from the distance
i see,
in the same slightly scratched off white paint,
a mile away.
i had been here before, had i?
but it all seemed transformed.
like i’ve achieved
a sense of renewment.
was this what the people in temples used to preach,
above their following disciples…
nirvana?
in which where it just keeps going round and round,
circle and circle and circle
dizzy and tiring,
like a never ending cycle?
...
someone told me,
that the feeling of déjà vu
wasn’t just a myth,
you were probably in the same place this whole time,
wandering.
thinking you made progress.
but you were just going in circles.
that the feeling of déjà vu
wasn’t just a myth.
you were probably in the same place this whole time,
wandering.
thinking you made progress.
but you were just going in circles.
i stumbled across a pit stop.
i turned off the engine,
i stepped out of my car,
slowly starting to fill up the gas.
and i drove away,
to which the road sign said,
in slightly scratched off white paint,
2 more miles ahead.
i sigh,
i know i will be back.
somehow, somewhere.
but maybe not there.
i idyllically walked into a pit stop,
where a little shop sat beside the road.
in the midst of my euphoria,
while stifling a fit of giggles,
i paid for my bottle of beer.
and i stumble out of there,
to which the cashier mumbled,
you forgot your change,
20 cents, he said.
i laugh,
i know i will be back.
somehow, somewhere,
but maybe not here,
where it seems so blurred.
i find myself at the back of the car.
i see my friends shouting ‘ road trip! ‘
i notice that in my left hand,
a cooler.
perhaps we‘re going somewhere to have some fun.
and i looked at the person beside me,
to which he said,
i don’t think i know you.
he was around 50 years aged.
that’s when it hit me, he wasn’t my friend.
and from the distance
i see,
in the same slightly scratched off white paint,
a mile away.
i had been here before, had i?
but it all seemed transformed.
like i’ve achieved
a sense of renewment.
was this what the people in temples used to preach,
above their following disciples…
nirvana?
in which where it just keeps going round and round,
circle and circle and circle
dizzy and tiring,
like a never ending cycle?
...
someone told me,
that the feeling of déjà vu
wasn’t just a myth,
you were probably in the same place this whole time,
wandering.
thinking you made progress.
but you were just going in circles.
pedestals. (open call)
|
sirs, you put men on pedestals
deny them limbs
set a face in stone
for the curse of eternity
mister michelangelo, sir, i would sue
for denial of basic human rights:
free will, free speech,
both of which you have deprived dear david of.
—oh, and forced nudity, too.
david, david, art’s crown jewel
a piece of relic to gawk at
snap selfies with
hashtag i-just-saw-michelangelo's-david
mister michelangelo, they say you breathe
life into marble, and from these gasps:
a marvel, unworldly wonder
david, forever known as michelangelo's
— never just david, no
a mere asset to an illustrious man
mister michelangelo, are you aware of the fact
that you’ve doomed a man to a life of sitting
on a hard, unyielding slab—
threaded through with skeins of his skin
watching those who wander in,
mayhaps yearning to, too, wander out?
deny them limbs
set a face in stone
for the curse of eternity
mister michelangelo, sir, i would sue
for denial of basic human rights:
free will, free speech,
both of which you have deprived dear david of.
—oh, and forced nudity, too.
david, david, art’s crown jewel
a piece of relic to gawk at
snap selfies with
hashtag i-just-saw-michelangelo's-david
mister michelangelo, they say you breathe
life into marble, and from these gasps:
a marvel, unworldly wonder
david, forever known as michelangelo's
— never just david, no
a mere asset to an illustrious man
mister michelangelo, are you aware of the fact
that you’ve doomed a man to a life of sitting
on a hard, unyielding slab—
threaded through with skeins of his skin
watching those who wander in,
mayhaps yearning to, too, wander out?