a first memory
running from head to toe:
as the sun loses grace,
cheeky children return to their homes late
with a wipe of their brows and wind
playing in their ears.
in the garden alone,
a young pair of lovebirds
blush in shame.
the sigh of time draws close. in the early
hours of morning, youths arrive
in shifts. one by one,
a farm collapses, an anxious
field hears the thunder
of progress.
hills of trees are shaved free;
sweat off the backs of teenagers
becoming men. one by one,
we lose a thousand dreams
marching towards maturity.
Noorhaqmal Mohamed Noor, otherwise known as Aqmal N, is a performer, musician, producer and writer. He has produced two albums,
Warkah Cinta Dunia and
Jenggala Konkrit. He has performed for corporate and other events at known places such as The Esplanade, The Istana, Victoria Theatre, among others. He has published his collection of poetry titled
Dumpra in 2017. He continues to contribute to literary groups in anthologies and performances such as ASAS ’50, Singapore Poetry Festival and Dirgahayu Sastera Nusantara – a poetry group with vast networks around ASEAN and Europe.
Charlene Shepherdson is a Singaporean poet and community organiser focused on language in written, performative and visual forms. She is interested in heritage, technology and creative education. Her poems have been published in
From Walden to Woodlands and
UnFree Verse (Ethos Books),
A Luxury We Cannot Afford,
SingPoWriMo 2014: The Anthology (Math Paper Press) and
The Straits Times. Her visual poetry has been displayed in The Arts House, The Substation and in Singapore libraries under National Art Council’s Project LAVA. She is currently working on the textures of text through textiles.
http://www.charshep.com
