POETRY FROM 5A
A Writing Exercise by Students of the 
Limkokwing Institute of Creative Technology
www.limkokwing.edu.my





In April 2000 I began guest lecturing in Copywriting and Creativity at LICT.
A limerick and haiku writing exercise yielded a wide assortment of poetical expressions:
some publishable with just a bit of tweaking and a few impressively accomplished.
The average age of the 5A copywriting class is 19-21.
- Kit Leee (Antares)



DON’T JUDGE ME

I know I look like a sheep.
But this is the way I was born.
My father never was to be seen.
My mum in a triple-X porn.

Other dogs, they all make fun.
Nevertheless, I think I look nice.
Not only does my fur keep me warm,
It camouflages all of my lice.


I know, by the way that I look,
I seem to come from the upper classes.
But I’m just the same as the others,
I too sniff other dogs’ arses.

I have a sad name, it’s Fifi.
So dumb you must say it twice.
If I’d had my way, I’d be Lassie
But my owners think Fifi is nice.

I look like a walking sweater.
That or the stuff for your ear.
Don’t really look like a dog.
But a cross between rat and deer.

But I am what I am,
Looking dumb or not,
With two small eyes 
And a nose like a dot.

(Farah Shamin)

FLOWERS IN THE MEADOW

Bright, clear and sunny,
Skies of blue and fields of green,
Look above and see.

Warm sunrays upon my face,
Pretty as always,
Every day.

Flowers in the meadow,
Swaying in the wind,
Without a care in the world.

(Lim Su Lee)


MISERY

The umbrella looks poor
The girl looks blur
She weeps, she shouts
To no avail…
Because her life is full of failure

(Imelda)
 

BEING LONELY

One must admit
that he is lonely
when he has nothing left
to love.

(Liew Yoke Ching)

 
A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG LADY NAMED CLAIRE

A beautiful young lady named Claire
Had unwanted facial hair.
She tried to shave;
Her beard wouldn’t behave
And now Claire looks like a bear.

(Amy Choy Mei Lin)

       NIGHT OF THE ENERGY

           Waiting patiently,
           Cold shivers run down my spine,
           Moving so slowly.

           Fifteen minutes to trip
           As chords stretch higher:
           Binds my soul as I sleep.

           Darkness is coloured,
           Mind ornaments forming,
           The soaring strings stirred.

           Dramatized ambience,
           Strong energy flows from deck;
           This act of deviance.

           Wide-eyed, open-mouthed,
           Jumping bods, screaming vocals,
           Alone, I’m without.

           I watch God in awe:
           He brought us in unity,
           Cold feelings thaw.

           Your warm smile I see,
           We knew each other before;
           Can’t you just feel me?

           (Sue-Anne Lim)


WOES OF LIFE

Assignments and paper tests
Are truly a pest;
Something I really detest.
Unavoidable, yes,
These keys to success,
Should we hope to be the best.

But stress is gaining,
Pressure is rising,
Giving my brains no rest.
My mind is in limbo
And I am no Rambo
To face these tasks with zest.

Sleep never comes
Whenever I need some
During the day or the night.
I feel so worn,
Restless till morn,
And the next day I’m an ugly sight.

I used to drool
Like a stupid fool
At the very sight of food;
Now mama cooks
And I can only puke
While my stomach takes three looks.

Love was easy,
Light and breezy
Till these pests came in;
My girlfriend dumped me
For an assinine smartie
Because stupidity is a sin.

Sometimes I wish
Exams don’t exist;
They’re like a bad dream or nightmare.
For goodness’ sake,
Please give me a break
Before I run out of air.

(Lim Wei Yin)


  HAIKU

    Nothing will be wrong
    When everything is possible.
    Just do or do not.

    Oops, I did it again.
    Did something; nothing was gained…
    Oh, forget about it.

    (Adelyn Kong)


WHY DO WE CLOSE OUR EYES?

 Why do we close our eyes when we sleep?
 When we cry, when we kiss, when we imagine?
 This is because the most beautiful things in the world are unseen;
 So let everyone think that we’re insane –
 They really don’t know what that means.

(Natasha Fransisca Kurniawan)


WHEN GUYS MEET GIRLS

 Sex is when a guy’s communication
 Enters a girl’s information
 To increase the population
 For a younger generation
 Do you get the explanation?
 Or do you need a demonstration?

 (Selvy Marlivia Julius Bong)

 
THE SHADOW

Six blue days
Passed miserably
The shadow haunts me

There I was
Strolling down Memory Lane
All by myself

Hurt and sadness
Disappointment and fear
Blurring my path

I was lost
Finding myself escape
From misery

Why was I weak
And blinded with affection?
It is the shadow

(Kong May Kit)

DAYBREAK

As red dawn breaks,
Ravens take to flight,
Ripples breaking on a lake.

(Chin Sook Fun)

GRASS MAN

One thousand degrees
You’ll be on your knees
Or you’ll be burning, begging, please
People, freeze!
This man is undisputed
In deep-rooted G smoke
That leaves your brains booted.

(Heng Aik Kuan)

A LITTLE RAIN

A little rain,
A little Ray,
For some flowers
To light up your day.

(Lim Sha Li)

 

O’OW!!!

I’m screaming…
Hiding…
I was scared…
Seeing them naked
It is Tarzan’s plaything

(Windya Chandriyanto)

NOBODY'S WIFE

I'm sorry for the times that I made you scream,
For the times that I killed your dreams,
For the times that I made you cry,
And sorry for the times I had to lie,
For the times that I watched you stumble,
And I'm sorry that I let your whole world crumble.

It's too bad but that's just me,
What goes around comes around, you'll see,
That I can carry the burden of pain;
It won't be the first time a man goes insane,
And when I spread my wings to embrace him for life,
I'm sucking out his love because I'm nobody's wife.

I seem happy with myself although I'm not,
I seem excited although I'm bored,
For as long as I live,
For as long as I give,
I can never fight
What I think is right.

(Engku Putri Balquiss)


YOU ARE HERE WITH ME

You are here with me
The sun, the sand and the sea
It was meant to be

Regard me fondly
The breeze, the clouds and the rain
Embrace me gently

It's where pleasure lies
The scent, the scene and the sky
It's paradise

(Kimberley Yap Lee Kin)


So innocently
You bounded into my life
At 3 one morning

Your charm and your wit
Are matched by no other
I laughed till I ached

By and by I glimpsed
A hurting heart, a parched soul
I longed to heal your sorrow
I cried when you cried
In time I began to trust
Your friendship, our bond

One day it all crashed
You compromised our shared space
I felt robbed, betrayed

I probed, searched your heart
You said you were being honest
Broken from your past

I gave you a chance
Restored my trust in you
I thought I knew you

Today I changed my mind
I saw more and more each time
My clouded judgement

Friend, I hope I'm wrong
That you are still that same song
That I have cherished

(Aileen Chow)


THE LIMERICK AND I

When asked to write a limerick
I felt a sense of panick
My mind went to sleep
I couldn't think deep
Guess I'm going to call in sick

(Soong Wai Lun)


1)  Creamy swirls where angels recline
     Cotton candy clouds make me hungry.

2)  A salted egg yolk in the sky
     Bursts as the last dews
     Evaporate.

3)  Waters running over a single leaf
     Like autumn playing hopscotch.

4)  Old book of diction
     Slaps the ground exhaling dust
     And pages half eaten.
 

5)  I am uninspired
     Drowning in a catalogue of hopes
     And dreams expired
     Mulling over yellowed pages
     Lacing dusty thoughts
     Intertwining fingers into knots.

6)   Coffee lovers sit benignly
      Etching gravel with pointed toes
      Puffing smoke(s) under a canopy
      At San Francisco, Starbucks…
      Or the Coffee Bean;
      They sit there just waiting to be seen.

7)   I could write about feeling
      Something, not a limerick
      Revise a sort of reeling,
      Anything but a limerick
      I could turn sensual compositions
      Into nothing less than lamentations.

8)   I hear music in my head
      Soft lazy overtones
      Sweet enticing baritones
      About authors who are dead
      I love that trumpet blowing
      Low tender moans, floating.

     I've heard it somewhere before
     An unforgettable billow of laughter
     Or when the skies are crying hard, it's familiar
     Like a cozy mud bath in the moor,
     A day meant for sipping tonic water and 
             lemon…
     Dancing in a darkened room as shadows 
             awaken.

     I know it means I'm only sleeping
     But if I could remember it this way
     Without words where on a silent day
     The cold wind and its sadness seeping
     Through my rumpled curtains, weeps
     And creeps to my bedside, embracing me.

     (Debra Ong)
 

THE UNCOMPLETED JIGSAW

Thinking… Remembering
Placing all the past
Into one moment

Compressing the past and present
To fit a small complicated
Jigsaw

Sadness, happiness, sorrow
Exploding together
When will this jigsaw be completed?

You don't know…
I don't know…
No one knows…

(Amy Choy Mei Lin)


LIMERICK

I can't think of what to say
But I will type on anyway
There's something in my head
I'm just wondering how it should be said
The best thing I can do right now
Is to quit trying anyhow.

(Farzana Ali)


STEPPING ON KANCILS

I know a guy who drives a Kancil
He seems to think he has some skill
He has this thing for Miras
'Cos he believes they're so high class
But seriously it's just a cheap thrill

He thinks his car is a screamer
But he is just a dreamer
He thinks it's so damn fast
But he always comes in last
He might as well be driving a steamer

I'm telling you it's slow
Go ask Joe Flizzow
He'll tell you about his past
All the times he ate my dust
And the pride he had to swallow

(Bryan Low Der-Shyong)


THE MORE YOU GIVE

The more you give, the more you'll get
The more you laugh, the less you'll fret
The more you love, the more you'll find
For life will always be good and friends be kind
For whatever we wholeheartedly give away
Will make us richer and more alive each day

((Jasmine Tong Ching Pei)

D E A T H

Death is never the friendliest host
Death conjures the fear of ghosts
Death is always the colour black
Death doesn't ever look back

Death feels love and Death brings hate
Death is a constant companion of Fate
Death is cruel and Death is pain
Death knows no shame and doesn't play games

Death brings sorrow and Death brings grief
But sometimes Death can bring relief
Death is like an unbreakable lock
Death likes to arrive as a rude shock

Death was the sentence laid upon Jesus
Were tales of his resurrection told to tease us?
Death is cold and Death is blind
Death plays a major role in all our minds

(Leonard James Au)

What are you doing staring at my bosom?
With that face of yours so bloody gruesome?
Okay, so I'm a loud and buxom woman
So what! The bottom line is I'm still a human!

v

The education system
Is rotten through and through.
A knowledgeable society
By 2000 A.D.?
I say, "Good luck to you!"

(Janet Tan)


A SONG FOR THE SOUL

When you think the world is going crazy
And the future is looking more and more hazy
Just tell yourself you are not alone
We're all living in the same time zone
So, people, stop fighting for your survival
For every departure there is an arrival

Some will kill just to get to the top
And having succeeded they still won't stop
They get even greedier, wanting more
Doing every wicked thing just to score
Forgetting about ethics and morals
Wasting energy with silly quarrels
 

They'll try hard to embarrass you, put you to shame
They'll misbehave and hand you the blame
Don't be discouraged, don't feel dismay
Living righteously is the ultimate way
Show them that life isn't just about taking
Tell the sleepers it's time for awaking

Others will try to put you down
But no matter how horrid they sound
Know that you're stronger and that you will win
See them as wretched souls, empty within
Who haven't the courage to face the facts
In the burning light of truth they melt like wax

So when you find yourself down and full of sorrow
Don't ever believe there's no tomorrow
For the sun will rise on a brand new day
With rays of hope to light your way
It's time you learnt - and you'd better believe -
If you sulk all day you'll never achieve!

Life is too short to waste on worry
Or feeling unworthy and generally sorry
Set your doubts aside, oh, turn them away
Live the spirit of carpe diem and seize the day!
Take your life in hand, just get up and go
Don't quake like a coward - be a hero!

(Daryl Leong)
 

TWO HAIKUS

The rain goes
pitter-patter like a battle
raging on the window pane.

The train goes 
choo-choo chuggle chuggle
leaving a trail of smoke behind.

(Victoria Chai Pui Yee)










 
 

LOLA

There once was a girl named Lola
Who really loved Coca-Cola
She'd fill a cup
And drink it all up
And then drive off in a Corolla

(Patricia Ananda)

DIVAS

Girls around the world I’m sure will agree
That Friday nights have regularly blessed our social life
Where we party and flirt and stay out after three
This is one time we’re glad we’re not somebody else’s wife
Otherwise our short hemlines wouldn’t make us feel so free

I sincerely think that it is great
How Friday evenings have made my room a shrine
For my two lady friends intent on future dates
Quite sure this time their dream man they will find
But not before they dress themselves up as the Fates

With magazines sprawled all over my bed
We decide on which ‘look’ we should wear
Should I try Cool Blue or Daring Red?
Is she better off with Drama Queen – or would she dare?
Oh, how much more indecisive can we get?

An hour later we emerge
A Glamour Puss, a Disco Diva, a Queen of the Night
And as we hail a cab we can’t resist the urge
To congratulate each other, “Girl, you’re a sight!”
Seems the shopping spree has been a worthwhile splurge

As we willingly fling ourselves into the city’s wild pulse
We work the room as drinks start flowing
Then I spot the Handsome One who always turns me to mush
My gaze is steady but the rest of my body’s melting
That’s it, no more of him should I let myself indulge

Just then he raises his glass and flashes me a smile
Even in the dark I can see his dimples
And I’m glad I exercised an hour, glad I jogged that mile
Oh God, I hope he doesn’t notice I have pimples
Please, just hold your smile for me, thank you, a little while

And as I internally fidget my night away
Trying to act so cool and playing so hard to get
I hold my breath and execute my calculated sway
Hoping that he’ll see me and take my bait
Till my friend takes me aside and whispers, “Forget it, he’s gay.

(Safrina Kadri)



Edited by <Antares@tm.net.my> © 2000 by the authors