I am Sorry Lamp Post

Zakir Hossain Khokon Mohor Khan

Sorry, I am sorry, Streets with no madding crowds, its traffic
for hanging on your spotless wall melodious
this painting, mere strokes of colour spotless as the hearts of the civilized people of
this city
Dont worry, diverse with crafted monuments
Ill take it down right away Trees nurtured as carefully as children
Among their branches the kokila sings
The subject of this painting: with the magical voice of forever spring
Life in exile Everyday, with the perfect touch
Name: of the bottomless love of my heart
The happy bird this city, mother Singapore, has turned into
(A beloveds endearment the chariot of the world
for a migrant worker) riding on the extravagance of youth

To the right after the crossroads Day after day I labour

and there you are at the cluster of households Layers of this city are infused
the fun-filled playgrounds of the child with the salty smell of my sweat
and that green patch you see Today I am a mad city lover
moving from opaque to light
the half hearted lights that become yellow Have I forgotten
spread out to the plane My mother, my motherland?
My wife waiting for me all this time?
From here begins the caress of the brush The child who will carry the flag of my family
that has dissolved slowly into the smoky brass Have I forgotten him too?
of the sky
To the left lies diffused the abir-covered Every night, sleepless in the same dream
evening The underground train of dreams moves
standing still at the doors of the stars relentlessly
And the greed of money blurs my destination
Excellent, says the rain At the delta of my dreams
and showers its many greetings I am as lonely as a sodium lamp post
Slowly in the dim light of my dreams
An old man stands enters the miserable cry of my son
close to the painting In my loneliness I can hear him say:
and says in a moist voice: Father, when will I go to Prince Bazaar
The whole canvas dyed holding your hand?
in the tired eyes The dream of reaching the sky
of innumerable workers riding on your shoulders is over
Unloved faces I have learnt to walk, run
And the poetic biography Father, I have grown up
that grows around stories of faded dreams I have learnt to forget your dear existence
their grotesque domestic furniture Father, I have grown up
the pollen of love, beyond touch
the fading signs of a kiss Every night, unable to sleep
I turn into a nocturnal creature
Some people from the crowd said: I am not only a migrant worker
Craftsman of civilization I am the lamp post of a family
this world will bow before you in gratitude
forever
1. What do you think these poems are about?
Embarrassed 2. What questions do you have?
I am removing the picture
3. What do they make you feel?
and again I say sorry
I am very sorry 4. Are there any phrases/parts that you like? Why?
5. What do you think the writer feels?
 You Untitled Poem
Sharasyamsi Yahya Sandeep Kaur
You, Daughter
Be the wind to my clouds
so that I may go forth confidently I want to live
to our destination to come into this world

You, lie happy in your lap

Be the wind to my kite make my father proud
so that I no longer fear crossing tie a rakhi on my brothers wrist
the skies of our hopes
I want to live
You,
Be the wind to all life I wanted to
Show them the way be called your daughter
and my way back play in your courtyard
treading the inspiration of two hearts share in your happiness and your grief

You, I wanted to live in this beautiful world

Be the wind that gives life to my dreams To touch the skies
my hope and my love
you alone are my dream I wanted to call you mother
may we be joined
in a blessed union I wanted to live too
that is no longer taboo
Mother

Random poem in 2015 I was happy too

when I knew I had a little life growing
Hou Wei inside me
I crossed a thousand miles and settled in the
foreign land of Nanyang. Days passed and nights
It has been twenty to thirty years since I I sowed a dream for you
returned to my hometown.
Loneliness left its residue all over my pillow You were a part of my being
and blanket,
At night I heard the downpour seeping I never wished for you to become
through my shabby window. my unborn daughter

How many autumns have it been since I got I could not fight this patriarchal society
trapped in a strange land? I was afraid of the dark customs of this world
Moving around and struggling until my hair
has gone grey. I saw the victims, little girls
Even the ship cannot bear the load of my and swallowed the poison
homesickness,
All I can do is to imagine Singapore as China. You were not with me
But your pain remained in my heart
1. What do you think these poems are about?
2. What questions do you have? You were buried forever within me
My unborn daughter
3. What do they make you feel?
4. Are there any phrases/parts that you like? Why?
5. What do you think the writer feels?