WHERE GO?!

An Anthology of Poems

By: Adlan Shafi bin Abd Aziz Maisarah bt Muhd Zamri (me) Sherman Teo Jun Hui Tan Wei Kien Theme: Reality Bites

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"Where GO?!" — A Haiku

mama n dada, nobody come up up mii, ma-tu-wi-tee's yuck.

"Ode to Wally" — An Ode

Oh my dearest friend, Your fluffiness comforts me like sipping hot chocolate on a winter morning. My love for you knows no end, A cloud touching you is what I dream of hoarding. When the night gets angry and gloomy, Your familiar musky scent soothes my soul to sleep. The color of your luscious coat, as sweet as mango. The feel of your hair sends shivers right through me, You're so cuddly like marshmallows that I'd wish to dive deep. But mommy tells me I'll one day grow and let you go.

Oh my closest friend, Shining beady eyes like those of ravens in the night sky. Without you, it'll be no fun when I play pretend. Wally, Your skin is tearing! Why why why?

Your guts are spilling out like snow. Overflow. Your golden seems are splitting into three. Tie tie tie. Now your jelly belly has sunken down far too low. A world without Wally is like a world without cookies and dough. Your absence will only make me cry cry cry. But mommy says maturity is to learn and let go.

"Suffocated" — A Concrete Poem

"Not Meant To Be" — A Lyrical Poem *Reading to be accompanied with https://youtu.be/wg4Suq5_hi0?t=153

I had ambitions; To be an officer, a firefighter, or a politician. I had dreams; To walk the runway, or paint on canvas, or sing some hymns. I wanted to be many things, and they said I could be anything. Everything is possible; nothing can stop me. No bridges are uncrossable, I’m free to become whatever I want to be.

But then they tell me; I failed the test, I couldn't afford it, I’m not a good fit. And then they tell me; I don’t meet the requirements, I don’t have the talent, I should just quit. I realize now that I was never free to become what I wanted to be. But I sucked it up to secure a future; God, all this maturity is giving me a tumor.

"Fleeting Time" — A Sonnet

Is this the life that was in my vision? Working from nine to five with stable pay. Is this the life that fits my description? Working while keeping family at bay.

At home, my lovely family awaits, Come dinner time, the one missing is me. No use waiting for me for I'll be late, Work-life balance's never a guarantee.

"Daddy, story time," NO! I'm too sleepy, The time that was lost seeing you growing. "Dad, I'm going now," no, I'll be lonely, But I've no right to stop you from leaving.

Yet my dear child is living healthily, Is this what it meant by maturity?

"Just a Pensioner" — A Narrative Poem

The rhythm of a slowed heartbeat Brought panicked cries and hurried feet. With weakened breaths and cloudy eyes, She drifted in and out of sleep.

Dreaming was a sound escape To lovely skies and better days, Where she ran free, and beauty thrived Before her senses dulled and frayed.

Her hands were soft, her eyes were bright, She sang and danced her way through the night. With rosy cheeks and gleeful grins, Where life was truly at its height.

The skies were bursts of red and pink, And hours passed in smoke and drinks, With deep red lips and endless sips She never had to frown or think.

Highways twinkled, streetlights shone On sparkling boards and cobbled stone, But colors changed to harsh white lamps When she awoke in bed alone.

With helpless cries and drowning fears, Her wrinkled hands grew blurred in tears. "Take me back," she barely wheezed As she begged to turn back the years.

A body frozen in its place, A tongue that can no longer taste. With smell and sound and vision gone, Life was but a tragic waste.

So with the final strength she had, With all her might, she made a grab Towards the stream of colored cords Until the machine beeped like mad.

Her husband rushed in with a limp And watched her once-bright gaze fade dim, He begged her to stay, but in vain For she no longer remembered him.

She gasped, and sighed and smiled with glee As the room faded instantly. Her mind was calm, for at long last she No longer felt the pain of maturity.