Tuesday, April 17, 2012

NaPoWriMo 2012 - Day #17 - qing ming, at mt. vernon




feeling the strain...



qing ming, at mt. vernon


up above a lone fighter jet
wings towards its base
dragging a sonic boom
over the green of the cemetery

the blackbirds are startled briefly
then return to eyeing
the offerings laid out neatly
to the dead

the faithful have come
bearing food and paper currency
their loved ones on the other side
must not go hungry

butterfies flutter in the sun
they said butterflies
are the souls of the departed
today they have come out to play

up above a lone C-130
lumbers towards a foreign land
dragging a sonorous rumble
over the green of the cemetery

17/04/2012
**********







© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ), 2012

2 comments:

Ravenblack said...

This is nicely written. Peaceful and quiet and respectful mood. C130 going over high above makes a good metaphor hinting at the mass numbers being transported, perhaps of gifts and food to the other land.


On a subject related note, as I see the authorities mark the graves along Lornie Road for exhumation, I can't help but feel a little sad although I've never visited within.

dsnake1 said...

you saw the metaphors in this poem, why i used warplanes in the first and last stanzas. war hinted at death. and between these stanzas are nestled quiet scenes of a cemetery. :)

mt. vernon is supposed to go too, it's just a matter of time.