SWEET SOOTHNESS
In days gone by
H'd been playing hide-and-seek
On such a sleepy, sunny Saturday afternoon as this …
Climbing onto a hillock, crouching and
expectant
On a tuft of luscious, bright green moss
Making quick retreats, brushing by ferns along the way
Untiring and far from want of napping
Hither, thither we would go.
Her call would by the by beckon---
And up that flight of sturdy steps we would stomp
Through a waist-high gate
To sup in a wooden-fenced dining area on a zinc-roofed corridor;
Linking the kitchen and bathroom to the rest of our stilted abode.
Handsomely rewarded with Mom's 'cooling' tea-breaks
Of sweet potatoes, sugar-cane, barley, red bean soup and such.
Not a scold nor a reprimand,
Save for promptings to finish off those goodies.
And, off again we would continue our play
Me and my siblings.
Withstanding city-life and concrete-slabbed dwelling
I reminisce such soothness here, now, and
Even at ubiquitous hawker centres and kopi-tiams
On this bright and eloquent afternoon.
*** THE END***