Seven Short Poems and Other Stories

These were written in no particular order, and represent a number of ideas which suggested themselves to me over the past week or so. Perhaps I'll write about the inspiration for each of them in time to come...


Seven Short Poems


i. Bored Look

The carpenter who had far more
Than his share of life's fast pace
Tried to look a little bored
And drilled a hole right through his face.

ii. Reminder

My life's become a living reminder
And so it isn't quite a surprise
That I use my handphone to remind me
That I'm a testimony to Christ.

iii. Two Become One

Kampung Boy meets City Girl;
He diasporic,
She in charted territory.

Their hearts whirl and feelings twirl,
Make each other tick;
Opposites dancing lovingly.

iv. Devotion

The strongest devotion is born
Not of sunshine and endless gain
But of the sunless morn,
Anxious pain and stormy rain,
Fires burning again and again.

v. Voices at a Chemistry Practical

"We'll clean up for you." (in Cantonese)
Carried by the other half, the monitor, the first aider
(I heard a voice; "I did not come to keep you safe")

Then the scientist in a world of his own
(As scientists tend to be);
"White precipitate formed, woh!"

vi. Angel of Mercy

Angel of mercy, stand by the suffering
Over them spread thy wings
Who are you, angel of mercy;
Are you sometimes me?

vii. Promiscuous

'Promiscuous' redefined
Is still promiscuous: undefined.

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"This kind of thing only happens once in a blue moon," said Mr Rashdan (class of '96). Li-Shia then remarked that it was befitting for the VI Blues Night to happen under a blue moon.

There was no blue moon that night, but I managed to take this picture of the blue balloons adorning the dining tent, juxtaposed with the blue dome of the up-and-coming surau/masjid next to the school hostel.

* * * * *

I read this in Ahmad Deedat's book Is the Bible God's Word?, which can be read online here. He is citing supposed weak points in the 19th and 21st chapters of the book of John. Words in block capitals are Deedat's.


WATCH THE PRONOUNS!

St. John 19

35. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.

WHO IS "HE" AND "HIS"?

St. John 21

24. This is the disciple which testifieth
of these things, and wrote these things:
and we know that his testimony is true.

WHO IS "WE"?

25. And there are also many other things
which Jesus did, the which, if they should
be written every one, I suppose that even
the world itself could not contain the books
that should be written. Amen.

WHAT AN EXAGGERATION!

WHO IS "I"?


I can imagine that Deedat never read The Lord of the Rings or probably any work of fiction, for that matter. Otherwise, he would be able to reconcile the third person with the writer, for not all pieces must be written in the first person.

For example, if I said, "Ben wrote two poems today," would I thus cease to be Ben? As for the 'I' that appears in the last verse of John, could I not have said, "Ben wrote two poems today and was happy with them. I spent about four hours on them altogether."? Admittedly, it seems cumbersome, but there is no contradiction where logic is concerned.

With regards to what Deedat calls an exaggeration, what then of those who say, "I'm so hungry, I can eat a horse!"?

Perhaps this is unique to John's Gospel, that it is the most human of the four, and therefore most susceptible to Deedat's criticism. But I do not consider it a weakness; from the outset, John makes it clear that he is presenting 'the God who became man', and he does well to show the life of Christ from a man's perspective.

The Muslims (or at least, those like Deedat) have a problem with this. For them, the Word of God must not be tainted by human hands at all; at best, a supernatural hand should descend and write the words, in the manner that the Ten Commandments were inscribed on the tablets on Mount Sinai. But if God really dwelt among men, as the Gospels claim, then the testimony of men must be, to some extent, valid.

John was arguably the closest disciple of Jesus', and he even stayed on when Jesus was crucified, while the others ran for their lives. I wouldn't trust anyone to write my biography; he/she would have to be a very close friend or family member of mine.

But at the end of the day, the question is simply this: do we trust God enough to accept that He can use any method he wishes to get His words across to us? The Muslims do not believe that God became flesh; it is too great a leap of the imagination for them. But that is what I believe, and if God can become man, then surely He can make sure that the words written about Him are correct.

* * * * *

There is a song by Petra called 'Counsel of the Holy', and it speaks of the Bible, the Word of God. The bridge kept repeating itself in my mind this evening:

More precious than rubies
More precious than gold
Mighty is the wisdom of the Lord

Two verses in the Bible speak explicitly of this. One is Proverbs 8:11, and the other is Job 28:18.

...the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

--Job 28:18 (NIV)

And I realised, reading today's portion of Every Day with Jesus, that this is what the Bible is all about: being immersed in the wisdom of God.

I remember Ravi Zacharias asking, at the National Congress of Integrity, if we all have a price at which we will forsake our values and all that we hold on to. He said that a person of integrity (such as Joseph, son of Jacob, in the Old Testament) will hold on to his/her principles.

I believe that if we root ourselves firmly in the Word of God, we will not be shaken, simply because what we have cannot be bought. Simply because we cannot be bought. I think this is the confidence which characterised the early church; nothing could silence them. Nothing could weaken the countless martyrs after them who would never compromise or yield to any sort of bribe.

* * * * *

Bumped into Ms Caroline Tan of ISKL at Kinokuniya today, before going for the MPO Family Fun Day. She asked about my future plans (i.e. university) and if I would still be able to participate at the Forensics next year.

Today's theme was 'Pirates', and I was overjoyed to hear the medley arrangement of Klaus Badelt's score for Pirates of the Caribbean. It is, in my opinion, one of the finest film scores in recent years; I will never forget the moment Captain Jack Sparrow first appeared, accompanied by heroic music, only to have it revealed moments later that his ship was sinking fast!

* * * * *


Something Praba said last night, looking at the sole bowl of ais kacang; "Oh, come on, get your own!"