An Ode To Masks

For eight months I've been wearing
this piece of fabric covering.
Like the darkness of a total eclipse
This world feels like an apocalypse

We live through this new routine
with some staying inside in quarantine
As we try to avoid the unseen
Lurking around this apocalyptic scene

This piece of fabric covering
Seems to have a different meaning
to each individual who is wearing
or not wearing, with their own reasoning

Some wear it as an armour
bravely out in the frontline.
Though fear makes their hearts murmur
as they hopelessly wait for cases to decline

Some wear it as a sign of respect
to not spread and get
what they cannot detect
since everyone can be a threat

Some see it as an oppression
to their freedom of expression
"My body my choice" they said
as another coffin goes down to be laid

Some see it as a symbol of greed
in empty shelves and exorbitant prices
Has lack of empathy became your creed
in this already tiring crisis?

I see it as a symbol of hope
as we keep balance and stride
on this high hanging rope,
trying to safely cross over to the other side

In the year of twenty twenty
this piece of fabric covering
that many of us have been wearing
has become a symbol of humanity

A symbol of persistence
and relenting perseverance
as we watch the sand in the hourglass
waiting for the brutal storm to pass

A symbol of ignorance
and baseless indifference
in the cacophony of self-made truths
and allegations with baseless proofs

For eight months I've been wearing
this piece of fabric covering.
As we pass through this storm bravely
until we can take it off safely.

An ode to masks. What a year 2020 has been huh. Uploading for history hah.

December 2020

It's December 2020
You're scrolling through the timeline
With media outlets links saying
"2020 a year in pictures"

You see pictures of people wearing masks
with their faces glooming like winter evening
You see pictures of empty cities
ghost towns, in lock-downs

You see pictures of doctors
scanning through scans with eagle eyes
You see pictures of nurses
with their brave fronts and assuring hands

You see pictures of scientists
unraveling a seemingly endless puzzle
You see pictures of frontline workers
giving their best in a seemingly endless hustle

You foolishly laugh at pictures of people
clearing off supermarket shelves
But you proudly smile
at strangers taking care of one another

You see wandering cruises
floating on the ocean
of uncertainties and worries
Filled with hearts yearning of home

You wonder at the scene of empty streets
houses with windows and doors shut
But you remember the cries of support
and music echoing hopefully in neighbourhoods

You see pictures of angels and warriors
the world should, but doesn't see
You hear voices and cries of hope
cutting through the isolating barriers

It's December 2020
You wonder how the world did it
To cross this ocean of uncertainty
this anxious planet has plunged in to

You think of people
who have lost the battle
And the angels and warriors
braving themselves in the front line

It's December 2020
A vaccine is on its final stages of development
You've lost count to the number of times,
that you've washed your hands

You've just finished eating an apple
after a good workout
Still wondering how we did it
and wondering what's ahead

I hope this poem brings some comfort to you in this anxious times. Don't forget to wash your hands often, stay hydrated, eat more veg, get enough sleep and exercise. Take care of yourself and one another! Check back on this again in December, we'll get through this.

Paradise

Proetry February - Paradise

We are all promised a heaven
for all the nice things we do
on this earth, this lifetime
A beautiful paradise we go to.

But why can't we be nice,
and shoe love, respect and compassion,
to one another, to all living things
and turn this beautiful earth, this lifetime,
into a beautiful paradise?

Before we leave our bodies behind
on this paradise
and move on to the next.

Inspired by the hate comments people write towards the LGBT communities in Indonesia. And everywhere else on earth. Be nice to one another. May all living things be happy.

Happiness

Proetry January - Happiness

I hope that you shall find happiness
Wherever you are
Wherever you may be

I hope that you can see it
in the blue sky
and the vast ocean

I hope you can hear it
in the whispers of the wind
or the chirpings of the birds

I hope that you can taste it
in that glass of water
or that cup of chamomile tea

I hope that you can smell it
in the morning air
or the smell of petrichor

I hope that you shall realise
that it's within
your heart
an eternall bliss

I hope that one day you will find
that not unhappiness is necessary 

I hope that you'll live a life
where you've run out of reasons
to be unhappy

Inspired to write this when I was looking at the sky one evening. I love looking at the sky, especially during sunsets in the evening. It makes me feel happy. So my inspiration comes from the happiness I get when I look at the sky. PS: I know this is so late! Supposed to post this in January but somehow I didn't so.... Yes. I will update monthly from now onwards no worries. 

Also, this series will be called proetry AKA Project Poetry.