How do I tell a story to all
of the uninvited dust
that momentarily comes and dwells in the crevices of my life?
Will my question be answered
as the wind holds its tongue,
quietly sprinkling dust across the earth?
Dust…
Are you the rubble of civilisation that vanishes over time?
Or young tears hungry and thirsty for peace and beauty?
Or stains of greed that steep into the bones of the destitute?
Or remnants of lust from red lanes and their houses?
Or are you the reminder of my death?
Wan Jumaiah Bte Mohd Jubri is 59 years old and works as a senior library assistant at Singapore Press Holdings’ Information Resource Centre. She is the author of two books; and a compilation of short stories. She only started writing poems seriously at the age of 45. In 2015, she challenged herself and submitted five poems to the Golden Point Award.
Debu-Debu, which was one of the poems submitted, went on to clinch third prize.
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
