July 4, 2011

My Little One (and a video of me reading it)

The photopoetry below was written and created by me a day before I read it at a Northern Writers session. It's one of my longer ones - about motherhood. About the mother I want to be; The way my mother raised me.
You may scroll to the bottom of this entry for a video of me reading it and some details on the Northern Writers.



If we were in a garden,
You would be the butterfly.
I would whisper softly enough for you to listen;
Of the delicate beauty of your wings,
Of the way they're made to fly.

But before I could even tell you
of softness,
Of how slightly pastel the pink polka dots on your wings had become,
You would have pointed out to me first,
My wings; They're warm,
They could embrace the both of us.

If we were in a garden,
I would sing to you of how you could fly.
For you would have taught me freedom;
You would have made me breathe the sky.

The freedom to touch,
The freedom to share,
The freedom to look you in the eye,
The freedom to watch you grow,
The freedom to love.
Just how far you would have brought me to the sky.

But a garden;
Are we there yet?
But a song;
Can we hear yet?

If we were music,
You would be the missing key in the songs your father had written.
If we were a dreamer's poetry,
You would be the dream in each verse.

And my days; They would surround you.
My nights; Made by you.

For if we were day,
You would be the warmth that keeps us out at play.
If we were night,
You would be the reflected moonlight, the brighter starlight.

And I would hand you a box of crayons;
A life of colour.
And if they'd tell you there's no garden,
We would draw one.
Of apple blossoms and sunlit daffodils;
We would colour a garden.
And if they wouldn't believe we're butterflies,
We would colour some wings.
Of orange hues and pastel pink polka dots,
We would draw us two pairs of wings.

If we were art,
You would be the palette of colours to paint us a name.

If I were a mother,
I would hand you a box of crayons, my little child,
The same one;
My mother gave.



--------------------------------------------------------------


It was a beautiful Saturday morning, slightly tranquil than usual, when I had the chance to read in a cozy old black and white building in Ipoh with amazing writers Chuah Guat Eng, Mary Schneider and Uthaya Sankar SB.

I can't thank Yusuf Martin enough for organizing this and for letting me be part of such a beautiful initiative.

What made the event more beautiful was the presence of my mother, my husband and my former English Literature teacher from high school who had always been my role model. I may not be where I am now nor go up there to read my poem if it weren't for them and their support all these years.



I hope you enjoyed the poem above. And I hope to see you at another Northern Writers event perhaps. Do follow its Facebook page for more info. Have a great week now.

31 comments:

  1. Wow..Uthaya..So long since d last time I met him, and was impressed on how well is his Bahasa Malaysia..

    And Mary Shcneider..Nvr missed her column "But Then Again"..Congratz Yaya!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. i thoroughly enjoyed your reading...good pacing and rhythm in your voice and enjoyed the verse as well...i like crayons too..s miles.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing this. I also enjoyed the video.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love love love love it!! beautiful words! i'm inspired to recite a poem too! hehe. u r amaaaaazing! ;)

    -Lisa-

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh great - enjoyed the poem and your reading...such warm-hearted and playful words..beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my my! How absolutely sweet and tender is that!! Brought warm tears to my eyes...

    So musical in its form.. loved it!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This was an absolute joy to hear and read.. words are beautiful trains which take us to many places.. You will be a wonderful Mother, of this I do not doubt..

    i would love to have you share your words in my next "take-it-to-the-street-poetry" volumes.. (leave me note on my blog if interested)
    Lynne

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A beautiful poem full of imagery, and a simple directness that wows the reader :) Lovely rendition in voice too, Azalia.

    A Poetic World - My Rally Post

    ReplyDelete
  10. You colored a beautiful picture.

    ReplyDelete
  11. so wonderful you got to do a reading. loved the poem. Congrats

    ReplyDelete
  12. wow, a live entry, how charming...

    could not see your face clearly, but love the way you present your thoughts.

    Happy Rally.

    ReplyDelete
  13. When a butterfly dances across the garden or brightens a dismal day, it brings joy to a writer's heart,
    what more can I say.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful, touching poem. I've been thinking and writing about butterflies lately too. Such lovely magical creatures.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very nice, meaningful, touching. I enjoyed this MUCH!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful and tender like a mother's heart. I love the way you've ended it. Well written :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Incidentally, I was reading an article today about how children have become inferior goods and had a low spirit about it. This poem lifted me up. For a moment, I wanted to be the child in your poem. Beautiful is the only word!

    ReplyDelete
  18. This poem is so warm and touching, truly I enjoyed it

    ReplyDelete
  19. awww!! i know thats a usual reaction..but truly it is..! that a beautiful piece..i love how you interweave those thoughts together in a poem... really..i'm dying to be a good writer like you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love it since the first stanza... :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow! That's an excellent poem..
    True motherhood :)
    Loved it!! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  22. Beautiful and touching write!

    "If we were in a garden,
    I would sing to you of how you could fly.
    For you would have taught me freedom;
    You would have made me breathe the sky." Very nice!

    ~Renee

    ReplyDelete
  23. "If we were music,
    You would be the missing key in the songs your father had written.
    If we were a dreamer's poetry,
    You would be the dream in each verse."

    Loved that part.
    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Beautiful metaphors! You would be the dream in every verse! Resonates well with me. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Beautiful poetic reflections of the nurturing consciousness of motherhood.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Beautiful! I especially loved the lines:
    //And if they'd tell you there's no garden,
    We would draw one.//
    That is what we all should do :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Sweet and full of love. It made me think of my children.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thank you for all your kind words, beautiful souls! :-)

    ReplyDelete