Lost West of Boon Lay

Listening to Dido
And easily, my life is for rent
In sticky heat on hard seats
In smoothly running electric trains
And air conditioned diesel busses
Yellow sunlight, old with afternoon
Black hair, dark almond eyes
Christian cemetery, Islamic, Chinese
Military camps. Air Force. Army. Academy.
Late but not stressed,
Lost, but confident.
Hot, but there is a drying breeze
Alone but complete.
Truly loved and full of peace
Heart full and still
Because you do, Father, you do.

On the bridge between
Choa Chu Kang west and Choa Chu Kang east,
Following a woman over
To discover I’d gotten off too early
By two stops.
And a mosque just down the end of the block,
And carefully cut green grass in the field across,
And I have peace.
What joy, to be lost and late
And not repeating to myself
A litany of the level of personal inadequacy.

Late but whole.
Lost, and still a man,
Listening to love songs
By a woman I’ll never meet.

August, 2007