POEMS:
IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP BY LATIFF MOHIDINHE HAD SUCH QUIET EYES BY BIBSY SOENHARJO
NATURE BY H.D. CARBERRY
ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE BY ZURINAH HASSAN
SHORT STORIES:
QWERTYUIOP BY VIVIAN ALCOCKTHE FRUITCAKE SPECIAL BY FRANK BRENNAN
DRAMA:
GULP AND GASP BY JOHN TOWNSEND The poems are short and quite an easy read.........
IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP
- LATIFF MOHIDIN
At dawn they returned home
their soaky clothes torn
and approached the stove
their limbs marked by scratches
their legs full of wounds
but on their brows
there was not a sign of despair
The whole day and night just passed
they had to brave the horrendous flood
in the water all the time
between bloated carcasses
and tiny chips of tree barks
desperately looking for their son's
albino buffalo that was never found
They were born amidst hardship
and grew up without a sigh or a complaint
now they are in the kitchen, making
jokes while rolling their cigarette leaves
HE HAD SUCH QUIET EYES
- Bibsy Soenharjo
He had such quiet eyes
She did not realise
They were two pools of lies
Layered with thinnest ice
To her, those quiet eyes
Were breathing desolate sighs
Imploring her to be nice
And to render him paradise
If only she's been wise
And had listened to the advice
Never to compromise
With pleasure-seeking guys
She'd be free from "the hows and whys"
Now here's a bit of advice
Be sure that nice really means nice
Then you'll never be losing at dice
Though you may lose your heart once or twice
(1968)
NATURE
- H.D. Carberry
We have neither Summer nor Winter
Neither Autumn nor Spring
We have instead the days
When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields--
Magnificently.
The days when the rain beats like bullets on the roofs
And there is no sound but the swish of water in the
gullies
And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.
Also there are the days when leaves fade from off
guango trees
And the reaped canefields like bare and fallow to the sun.
But best of all there are the days when the mango and
the logwood blossom
When the bushes are full of the sound of bees and the
scent of honey,
When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest
breath of air,
When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow
stars
And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.
Principal
