Poems for My Sons

Tag: Life

  • 25 March 2026, 8.32PM

    I await.
    Anticipate.
    Your birth,
    onto earth.

    Electric.
    Air, static.
    Energy, nervous.

    Your likeness,
    unconceivable.

    Your arrival,
    Incredible.
    Indelible.
    Miracle.

  • 3 March 2026, 7.48AM

    On my shoulders I will carry you
    As long as I am able to

    But walk, whenever you should
    It will give you strength and do you good

    And run! When that’s what your spirit feels
    Heart racing, lungs bursting, up the steepest of hills

    I will be around if you trip and falter
    Around always until I am no longer

  • 22 March 2026, 6.16AM

    Things I used to do with Ye Ye when I was little:

    Walking on his back
    Massaging his neck
    Passive stretching his hamstrings 
    Going swimming
    Going fishing 
    (Mostly not catching anything)
    Going to the driving range
    Watching him get frustrated because his swing wouldn’t change
    Waking up before sunrise to get nasi lemak 
    Breakfasts at the local mamak
    Sunday morning awakenings to water being splashed on my face in bed
    Evenings after dinner observing him stand for ages while he prayed

    We went camping in the jungle once as a bonding exercise
    I remember we cooked a fish and then dropped it in the mud 
    He used to proudly recount about how I conversed with all the grown ups

    That was really nice.

  • 13 March 2026, 7.28AM

    In an argument Dad used to say,
    “One ear in, one ear out!”
    I used to shake my head
    Maybe I already sensed that the words misled

    Maybe also because I saw with my own eyes
    that Dad didn’t really listen to his advice
    He’d turn to me with a wry smile
    only after he’d turn down his own dial

    But dad was aware of the speciousness of his words
    For when we were alone and could not be heard
    He’d admit he knew when he was wrong
    (and that sometimes he’d known it all along)

    Dad said Gong Gong had taught him this
    But I think that the real point is
    that I don’t think they were saying not to listen
    But to know when to be quiet in a conversation
    And not to escalate during a conflict
    When two people are hurting
    it matters not the verdict

    This is what we learn from Ye Ye’s lesson.

  • 15 February 2026, 6.43AM

    If you ever feel lost
    Go to the ocean in the early hours of the morning
    Watch the colours change in the sky
    The light, washing away the night
    Listen to the waves crashing on the sand
    Remember the kisses I have laid on your hands