Leong Liew Geok (b. 1947)
SELECTED POEMS
Dear Mona
Listen: for too long, you've looked askance, obliquely gazing
Into space. You don't do much else, do you, not even turn
So we may glimpse your back as you take nature at the rear:
A change of scene refreshes. What are you thinking, dreaming?Light is fading; soon you'll step inside to sit at table,
After which, the veil and shawl removed, you'll wear some other
Gown (tresses bundled into some nightcap) and—as they said
In your time—retire. Do you smile and dream, or fret in sleep?
Or reveal secrets which your understated smile conceals?
Composure beckons, to the tips of these fine long fingers,
Obvious as the hands at rest and gentle bosom, second
Nature for a woman of your age. I'd love some lessons,
Despite a different language. I should say you look great
And classy still. Congratulations! Distance becomes you.
by Leong Liew Geok
from Women Without Men (2000)
