The Lonely Iguana

Lonely old iguana
wanders around the lake
Leaving little gentle waves
rippling in its wake

Lonely old iguana
paddles on the pond
Looking lost and aimless
tired and forlorn

Lonely iguana swimming across the pond

Lonely old iguana
gently wags its tail
Slowly swims with feeble paws
growing weak and frail

Lonely old iguana
stares blankly ahead
His snout above the water
all his friends are dead

"The lonely iguana"
by Harold B Huang
Fri 15Apr22 2149 hrs GMT+8
#poetry #poetrybyharold
#sightandsounds

Day 15 : "picture this!"
#mpwm22day15
#haroldhuang

The Honest Mirror

Many of us would like to know
what the future has in store
Few among us would wish to go
back to where we've been before

In those bygone days, however,
lie lessons for us to learn.
If we would pause and ponder,
our lives we may discern.

---

One day I found a mirror,
'twas framed in tarnished brass,
I looked at it, lo and behold!
I saw visions from my past.

Vivid scenes flashed before me
right from my early years,
when I was just a little child
with all my little fears.

My success and my failures,
and all my mischiefs too,
My times of joy and sorrow
like gusts of wind they blew.

Of my mistakes, there were many,
those times I spoke too soon,
Nasty replies, angry words,
Like the villain in a cartoon.

Suddenly, my accomplishments,
they seem no longer great.
My character not quite noble,
my very past I dread.

It was an honest mirror
I looked into that day,
A mirror that showed me plainly
vices I must put away.

---

Though I've always liked to know
what my future has in store,
Today I learned the way to go
seeing where I've been before.

For in the mirror of bygone days,
lie lessons for us to learn.
If we would pause and ponder,
our lives we may discern.

---

"The Honest Mirror"
by Harold B Huang
Thu 14Apr22 2150 hrs GMT+8
#poetry #poetrybyharold
#heartfelt #daydreams

Day 14 : "mirror"
#mpwm22day14
#haroldhuang

British

Personal name, Surname
House number and road name
Towns and townships
Districts and states,

introduced by the British

Our roads
our roundabouts,
and road junctions,
our traffic lights

brought to us by the British

We drive
on the left side of the road
in right-hand drive cars

the British did it first

Post Office
selling postage stamps,
money orders and postal orders,
air mail and aerogramme,

started by the British

Police Station,
with CID, and ISD,
OCS and OCPD,
Traffic Branch, Special Branch,
and Federal Reserve Unit

first organised by the British

Hospital
Outpatient Department
Accident and Emergency
Admissions,
doctors and nurses
MB,BS. MRCP, FRCS

a legacy of the British

The Army, the Air Force and the Navy
their Regiments,
their Squadrons
and their Fleets

patterned after the British

Our schools
with morning and afternoon sessions
monthly tests and term exams
classrooms and class-teachers
a time-table divided
into forty minute periods,

British.

Our electricity supply
240 volts, 50 Hertz AC
billed in kilowatt-hours,

Our water supply
with its meter and main pipe
just outside our house

That's also British

Everywhere we go
we see British
Our country is shaped
in a British mould

We continue
to live colonial lives
in post-colonial times

---

"British"
by Harold B Huang
Wed 13Apr22 1950 hrs GMT+8
#poetry #poetrybyharold
#sightandsounds

Day 13 : "post-colonial"
#mpwm22day13
#haroldhuang

Daily News

"Today is a sunny day."
said Teacher to the class.
The sun was shining brightly
through panes of window glass.

"Today is a cloudy day"
said Teacher with a sigh.
Soft and fluffy clouds of grey
covered the afternoon sky.

"Today is a windy day"
said Teacher somewhat excited.
Pieces of paper were blown away,
branches swayed and fluttered.

"Today is a rainy day"
said Teacher to us all.
Little drops, and then a shower,
from gloomy skies did fall.

Every day about the weather,
Teacher would enthuse.
In simple words and sentences,
we wrote our Daily News.

---

"Daily News"
by Harold B Huang
Tue 12Apr22 2125 hrs GMT+8
#poetry #poetrybyharold
#sightandsounds #journeyinlife

Day 12 : "weather"
#mpwm22day12
#haroldhuang

Life of dreams, Dreams of life

When I was young,
my life was full of dreams.

I wanted to be a firefighter
fighting ferocious fires:
but the only fires I had ever fought
were mistakes in my life.

I dreamt I was an inventor
of new machines and devices:
all I invented were tricky ways
to get myself out of trouble.

I imagined being a warrior,
conquering distant lands:
I ended up fighting to conquer,
my greed and laziness.

I thought I'd become a hero,
to save the world from suffering:
the only heroic acts I did
were in saving my own skin.

My life is now bereft of dreams,
they have all materialised:
in ways I had never imagined,
my dreams are filled by life.

---

"Life of dreams, Dreams of life"
by Harold B Huang
Tue 12Apr22 0056 hrs GMT+8
#poetry #poetrybyharold
#daydreams

Day 11 : "dreams"
#mpwm22day11
#haroldhuang

The old Indian tea stall

Beneath the looming shadow
of Kishan Dial School,
Stood an old Indian tea stall
with a table and a stool.

I'll go there every morning
to buy my breakfast fare.
And sometimes in the afternoons,
tea time will find me there.

"Mau makan apa ini hari?"
The old man always asks,
his voice both warm and friendly,
his hands busy at tasks.

His tasty roti pratha
are fluffy, piping hot.
And thosai irresistible,
with chutney from a pot.

Some days he sells something,
to which I can't say no.
Sweet apam straight from heaven,
with coconut milk to go.

Memories remain in the shadow
of Kishan Dial School,
of the tea stall's friendly Indian,
with his table and his stool.

---

"The old Indian tea stall"
by Harold B Huang
Sun 10Apr22 2145hrs GMT+8
#poetry #poetrybyharold
#journeyinlife #sightandsounds

Day 10 : "local haunts"
#mpwm22day10
#haroldhuang

Background note:

In 1967, this teh tarik stall stood at the junction of Marsh Rd and Thambipillay Rd, Brickfields, KL in front of an old three-storey private school building called Kishan Dial School, just behind Lido theatre.

"Just behind the Lido cinema was the Kishan Dial Secondary School, possibly the first private school in the country to prepare students for the Overseas Senior Cambridge School Certificate."

• https://benmorais.wordpress.com/2018/04/25/la-salle-school-brickfields-kuala-lumpur/

Press On

When things turn out well,
and make you happy,
When troubles befall,
and make you sad,

Press on.

Whether in high spirits
or in low,
Whether in good mood
or in bad,

Press on.

When success is exhilarating,
When failure is incapacitating,
On days bright and cheerful,
Through nights dark and dreadful,

Press on.

---

"Press On"
by Harold B Huang
Sat 09Apr22 18:46hrs GMT+8
#poetry #poetrybyharold
#heartfelt

Day 9 : "up/down"
#mpwm22day9
#haroldhuang