Untitled Document

EARTH

New !

Doors
- by Rasiah Halil (my teacher and friend who taught me Malay language)

[ See Rasiah's Letters,
To A Nameless Tree, and Prologue]

Will you close your doors on me
& fail to see
the rays of light
or colour of my skin
or will it be easier
to act unknowing
when rooms are locked
& doors made too big?

I have no tears
or bitterness
as I leave your mansion
for your doors are too confining
& I love the sea
I like to tease the moon
catch dewdrops & stars
watch the bloom of gul bakawali*
& nature awaits
as your doors close on me.

No anger, regrets,
I'm a gipsy
who loves windows
desert, oasis,
& the limitless sea.

* gul bakawali (Epiphyllum oxypetalum): night-blooming cactus with frangrant pale pink flowers; a mystical flower in classical Malay literature.

Footnote: Doors was published in 1998 by Times Editions Pte Ltd in a collection of creative writings by thirty Singaporean women titled More than Half the Sky; edited by Leong Liew Geok.
See Rasiah's 2007 Book Launch