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Children
Under Trees
- Poem by Andrew Yip, M. Ed. |
See
two other poems
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Photo
by
Andrew's father, Yip Cheong-Fun, elected Honorary Outstanding Photographer of the Century (Seascape Specialist) by the New York Photographic Society and conferred the coveted 1984 Cultural Medallion of the Republic of Singapore. Scene: Bedok, Singapore (1950) About Andrew Yip |
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Like little children we walked along Nature's way strewn with flowers, leaves and thorns, Under tall trees and their dark looming shadows Bright lights pierced through the mist like arrows, As we watched mesmerised, but unafraid, We gazed in awe but no word was said. Nature's mood in mist mystifying and passion raw, A fury unleashed - its deadly trails we saw, Haunting us even when our leaves of life turned golden, Burnt brown or black - blight or trodden; Or bare branches crushing us like rusty rods, And thorny twigs sting and stab like swords. Then as our winding paths diverged, Grim and grey in a misty wood, Like children perplexed by a blurred vision, Anxious, leaden and long we stood, Paths led to paths, Obscured by thick bushes and undergrowth; Patches wedded to patches, A jigsaw of puddles and puzzles of sand and pebbles, Mingled with marshes of mud and mangrove. Pools and streams with shimmering lights from the ripples. We looked as far as we could, An oasis of emptiness in the wild yellow wood, Poised high those bare boulders and huge rocks, Perched on hill tops so perilously stood. The granite gleamed emerald in the setting sun, Could they be obstacles or Nature's whims and fun? Or are they an orchestration of the sensual soul? For some, it could be high heaven or hell hole. Yet with firm faith or reckless rush, we set forth - Into a misty maze with mixed mood and emotions, Under the mighty majestic trees and branches aloft, Wary of any relative risks and renewed vision, Clutching life's light and shadows still unknown, Into the mist of the future on our own, Moving along this long lonely road, To somewhere, nowhere - whatever the means or mode. |