Bait

Like a bone for a dog,
and a worm for a fish,
It's always something you like,
It's been always in your wish.

Now, it's there right before you,
in front of your very eyes.
It's within reach and waiting,
your desires it satisfies.

So you reach out for it,
and grab it with both hands,
"It's a prize", you thought,
"it can't be found in other lands"

Alas, you're undone, my helpless friend,
For ere have you taken hold of your prize,
than it has taken hold of your hand,
and from it you can never
ever be prised.

20191003
#Poetry #PoetryByHaroldHuang #Inktober

Bait

Mindless

Like a horde of mindless beasts,
the rioters appeared,
rushing out of a street corner,
a situation everyone feared.

They surged towards the police line,
approaching officers holding shields,
armed with batons, tear-gas canisters,
all ready for battle to wield.

A mindless battle then ensued,
with rioters stoning the officers in view,
who replied with tear gas rounds and baton charge,
to drive them away, and to capture a few.

20191002
#Poetry #PoetryByHaroldHuang #Inktober

Mindless

Ring

A ring on your finger
shows your commitment for life.
It goes around and around,
There's no end to its life.

He puts a ring on her finger
to take her into his life,
to care for, love and to cherish,
through hardship he must strive.

She puts a ring on his finger
to receive him into her life,
to belong to him, to be always by his side
and be called his very wife.

20191001
#Poetry #PoetryByHaroldHuang #Inktober

Ring

Mind

"Mind your head"
The signboard says,
telling you to go through
the door with care.

"Mind your step"
Say the bright yellow words,
painted boldly at the edge
of the long flight of stairs.

"Mind your language"
The teacher warned,
telling the talkative student
from foul words to refrain.

"Mind your manners"
A mother reminded
her child at dinner time,
good behaviour to maintain.

"Mind your mind"
The writer quips,
while thinking of a plot
for a story
that's hard to find.

Submitted to MyWriters PoetryPrompt 24/2019
On 20190929

A Long Journey

A long journey

I am reading a long-winded story
As I travel onward bound
for a busy crowded distant city
from my sleepy little town


Across peaceful quiet valleys
and a vast expansive plain,
I'm seated in this sturdy coach
Of a rocking rolling train.

It is a book that I had bought
Almost a year ago
Which I have read but less than half
Of all there is to know

So at last today I'm coming back
To resume from where I left
I've made progress in six good hours
And will finish it all by myself.

Haze, Dude

The haze is all around us in Malaysia . . .

Haze, Dude, don't make it bad,
It's been so long, yet not gettin' better.
Remember who let all the fires spread,
Only you can start to make things better

Haze, Dude, we're so afraid,
You were supposed to put out the fires.
The minute you let them burn all your greens,
Then you'll never begin to make it better.

And anytime you feel our pain,
Hey, Dude, refrain,
Don't carry the fires upon your jungles.
For well you know that we're no fools,
Who asks you to
Start making our world a little cooler.

Nah, nah nah, nah nah, nah nah, nah nah . . .

I Wish - Malaysia Day 2019

I wish

I wish we speak Bahasa Malaysia
As much as we speak our own mother tongue.

I wish we sing our NegaraKu
As heartily as other songs we have sung.

I wish we raise our Malaysia Flag
As proudly as we raise our voice

To tell the world that we are one people,
Of one nation, in which we rejoice.

I wish I can tell everyone
everywhere
at all times
that we are all Malaysians,

As we stand up for one another,
we stand tall among all nations.

Selamat Hari Malaysia ke-56.
20190916

Submitted to star2 @ thestaronline
for #OneWithMalaysia feature column.