Malaysia
City in the jungle,
Paradise of establishments.
I hate your gentrification,
Loathe your generation.
Show me your beauty.
Batu Ferringhi, Botanical Gardens,
George Town, G-hotel, Straits Quay.
How you excite me! Iron Kingdoms,
Glass castles.
Multi-millionaires and poverty,
Working side by side.
Show me your wonders.
They were right about your shores.
Your sandy beaches filled with dust,
Debris, trash.
Water black and brown
Like a sewer.
What sea life dwells there?
Multi-religious.
Like the people. Some black, some brown, some white, some gray.
Was it the religion?
Show me your abundance.
Your gems, hidden to the multitude.
Jackfruit, mango, soursop, star fruit, cat’s eye,
Rambutan.
Exotic fruits of your mother earth.
Abundant in wealth.
For the mouth and eyes.
Show me your song.
They knew this song from memory:
“Life on every corner,
Food for the soul.
Love in the stomach,
And warmth for all.”
Festivals of spirits.
Show me your flora.
Playgrounds of green and rainbow.
Plastic, Steel, Leaves.
Foliage the size of your head.
Keep the gentrification of
Forest fortresses away.
Your color haunts my recollection.
Show me the memories.
The “terra firma” holds the echo
Of my past.
The best souvenir I hold is of the reminiscent dreams you gave to me.
Show me another paradise like this.
Show me my new sanctuary.