A Glass of Wine - Lim Weijie

Teasing – sensual curves of the bowl –
crystalline clear with resplendent delight.
Moon beams innate, its cosmic glow
intoxicates the soul with its dainty sight.

Delicate, alluring and gentle -
its stem – a harbour for Fancy’s flight.
Holding the planetarium of melodious plot
where dark romance coalesce tonight.

Where will I be, where will I go?
the foot of the champagne flute standing bold.
stem, foot and bowl – its body –
plated with deadly, barbarous gold.

Ominous dollop of darken cumulus,
encroaches the soul of the delicate wine.
Amidst all the ballroom ruckus,
she drops the hemlock during that awkward time.

Oblivious, drowned by her glowing locks,
astral beings sigh with thoughts.
Handsome innocence, he becomes entranced,
unaware, his fate twisted sealed by that perennial
plant.

Darting glance, coquettish smile,
Nudged by her, he drinks the deadly concoction.
Bulging nerves, bloodshot eyes,
he is kissed by her in one swift motion.

Frantic, racing, his legs jolting,
confusion chokes him with its loving notions.
Savouring this kiss with eternal blessings,
she knows the wheel of death is in motion.

A kiss from the rose,
scars the lamb with its deadly thorns.
He gazes at her, a question posed,
life seeps out of him, its warmth torn.

Lying, stroking, gentle with his hair,
she whispers sweet nothings in his ear,
oblivious, confused, he was gripped by fear,
Why do this to me my sweet sweet dear?

As his soul slowly disappears,
She slips this message in his ear:
To Lethe you will, this lesson in towed;
That desire is a stranger you think you know.

Lim Weijie 

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Tricked or Treat

tricked or treat?

little red riding hood went up the hill to fetch a pail of water

but oh it was Halloween as trees bellowed a maniacal laughter

of werewolves and ghouls she disbelieves the most

for fear of those is an absolute no!

along the way came Hansel and Gretel

as they greeted her with smiles most gentle

she walked

they stalked

she nonchalantly hopped

they plot

she trot

maybe just another hop

her sight was robbed like a mental block

as ravens descend upon the block

to sew her eyes close with rusted pins

and needles and strings that pains a tinge

her screams echoed but not even Jack’o

could perceive as Gretel shackled

her lips with chains made of jigsaw puzzles

that paints the street red as it nuzzles

her screams her yells it came from hell

she ran she fell she needed to tell

a door mad thuds a figure appears

obscured by her infallible fear

she wished to be released from this perpetual despair

as she is weak and can only prepare

to slit these voices in her head

her wrist they bloom of magnanimous red

Hush girl now there’s nothing to fear

pain and pleasure have been pals for years

come in now I’ll wipe your tears

for Big Bad Wolf is here my sweet, sweet dear

Count weijicula

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Music Portal!

Music Portal!

The top 5 most meaningful songs

Lim Wei Jie

Eddy Grant – Gimme Hope Jo’anna

Eddy released this hit during the apartheid regime (Jo’anna stands for Johannesburg, South Africa). It was banned initially as it criticises the unwillingness of the international community for taking legal action against the South African government for using the Apartheid system. Part of the lyrics go:

The reggae beats and the explicit message blends seamlessly together to create the ultimate number that went all the way to #no.7 in the Top UK Hits in the 1980s. ‘Well Jo'anna she runs a country She runs in Durban and the Transvaal She makes a few of her people happy, oh She don't care about the rest at all She's got a system they call apartheid It keeps a brother in a subjection But maybe pressure can make Jo'anna see How everybody could a live as one’ The reggae beats and the explicit message blends seamlessly together to create the ultimate number that went all the way to #no.7 in the Top UK Hits in the 1980s. Michael Jackson – Man in the Mirror Taking rides with Surain back to my house used to be pretty dull due to the presence of a broken radio. However, with my trusty handphone, we were bopping our heads to the beats of The King of Pop. The poignant lyrics in the song urgig for change resonated with the context we were in, IB. It became the ‘Ride song’ I suppose, as we critically analyse the world and its flaws, as cliché as it seems, the change needs to come from us first. RIP Michael Jackson. ‘I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change’

 

   

Des’ree – You Gotta Be

Life’s hard? Well, suck it in. This pretty much sums up the whole song as it urges for perseverance in a familiar, pedagogical manner. Her other notable hit, ‘Life’ is also worth checking out though the nonsensical lyrics might perhaps hint that life is unpredictably funny at times? Your remedy when you’re down in the dumps:
‘Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
Stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry
You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day’

John Lennon – Imagine

A fellow Liverpudlian,  John Lennon was shot dead after sparking anger in an American for this song, where he re-imagine society with noble ideas of no religion, no hunger and just peace. It’s the ultimate peace song that is ranked 3^rd by the Rolling Stones as one of the greatest songs ever written. Perhaps his utopian dream was too hard to comprehend, too large to be taken seriously, but really, it’s easy if we just try to . . .

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Des’ree – You Gotta Be

Life’s hard? Well, suck it in. This pretty much sums up the whole song as it urges for perseverance in a familiar, pedagogical manner. Her other notable hit, ‘Life’ is also worth checking out though the nonsensical lyrics might perhaps hint that life is unpredictably funny at times? Your remedy when you’re down in the dumps:

‘Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
Stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry
You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day’

Sugarland – Something More 

Really, who would’ve thought country music will make into the list? Even the band name is enough to make me cringe at first. The song reflects this question: You are alive, but are you Living? The music’s not epically fantastic but the lyrics do strike a chord. -Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life? – Mary Oliver.

 There's gotta be something more

Gotta be more than this
I need a little less hard time
I need a little more bliss
I'm gonna take my chances
Taking a chance I might
Find what I'm looking for
There's gotta be something more

Five years and there's no doubt
That I'm burnt out, I've had enough
So now boss man, here's my two weeks
I'll make it short and sweet, so listen up
I could work my life away, but why?
I got things to do before I die

Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate
I believe that happiness is something we create
You best believe that I'm not gonna wait
'Cause there's gotta be something more

The Editor-in-Chief adds:

A great idea from our in-house author Wei Jie – songs with meaningful lyrics. I have some personal favourites as well, and this song by weirdo extraordinaire Björk contains some of the most intriguing lyrics about (what else can it be?) sexual desire!

He offers / A handshake / Crooked / Five fingers / They form a pattern / Yet to be matched
On the surface simplicity / But the darkest pit in me / It's pagan poetry / Pagan poetry
Morsecoding signals (signals) / They pulsate (wake me up) and wake me up / (pulsate) from my hibernating
On the surface simplicity / Swirling black lilies totally ripe / But the darkest pit in me / It's pagan poetry / Swirling black lilies totally ripe / Pagan poetry

Pagan Poetry (from Vespertine, 2001)

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The Importance of being Earnest

Social, carnal, their wants remain eternal
Pretentious attitudes make them insufferable.
If Care nests itself in the heart’s deepest hole,
Why play a song and then go home?

The kidneys yearn for that mechanical obtrusion,
But however, was it once an illusion?
For here it mirrors, assimilated not
By the failing education that simply clots.

To pursue a higher level of self-gratification,
Materialism and little amusements.
Bah! Tell me next time if you’re coming,
Because then I’ll be blissfully sleeping.

by Lim Wei Jie

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Modern Take on Princey and the Pea - Lim Wei Jie

Modern Take on PRINCEy and the Pea
Lim Wei Jie

“It’s high time you get married, so I get to hold my grandson before I’m buried. Your sperms will never wait, and neither will your pretty mate,” the queen said to her son, who was single, available and reluctant to mingle.

The prince rolled his eyes and muttered fiendishly, “Easier dead than son.”

And so the mighty prince travelled around the world in his Audi TT, condemned by journalists and all greenies for the excessive carbon footprint he leaves; yet managing to charm all nubile princesses around the world with his panache. Oh but what a pity, for none caught his fancy!

So after 2 long years and a further increase in global temperature, the prince, tired and weary, returned to the castle, crestfallen. His mood slightly lifted by a live telecast of The Bosnian Idol.

Hail-stones the size of golf balls pelted the kingdom that night. Suddenly, there was a knock on the castle door.

I wonder who it could be, the King thought as he transferred himself to a mobile wheelchair to move down the stairs. An avid fan of Taco Bells and everything fast food, he became too paunchy to even walk. He opened the door and his eyes bulged when he saw an attractive young man with rippling muscles by the name of Princey.

“Did anyone order Kentucky Free Cancer?” Princey smiled and asked suavely.

“That would be me.” the prince said. Instantaneously, he fell in love with him. He felt like ripping his clothes off and brawling with him in the drenching rain in a good old- fashioned heavy dose of bromance.

The queen, however, was sceptical.

Princey was invited to stay for the night. The queen wanted to test the eligibility of Princey as the prince’s wife/husband. She allocated a room for him.

The next morning she asked him whether he slept well. “Nope,” he said after stifling a yawn. “The mattress was so hard, there were no mirrors and I couldn’t remove my make-up.”

The prince cringed and knitted his eyebrows. “It’s alright,” the queen said. “All is well. Follow me.” She led them to his room and removed the 20 overpriced IKEA mattresses. And nicely ensconced in the middle of the bedstead, was a dried little pea.

“Only a real prince could’ve felt that. Your sensitivity astounds me. Congratulations, you now have my son’s hand in marriage.”

They embraced. The prince got down to his knees and said to Princey “Will you marry me? I promise you I will love you, in good times and in bed.”

“Hell yes!”

The Editor-in-Chief says: Heaven knows we’re sick and tired of moralistic fairy tales, and it’s great to see someone take a hammer to one of them!

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True Love (Lim Wei Jie , June 09)

True Love?

Lim Wei Jie

More and more monogamous relationships are breaking up, divorce cases are on the rise and infidelity seems to be a fashionable trend. Tiger Woods, Chelsea footballers (Ha!), politicians and celebrities, these are just a slew of examples of people involved in infidelity.

What happened to “For richer, for poorer, for better for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do we part”? Based on the aforementioned people, there seems to be an applicable leave the spouse can opt for during the relationship to satisfy his/her own lust. Society appears to have morphed into practicing dirty pragmatism where adults and teenagers alike demand for instantaneous results, or in this case, pleasure. When both partners work their asses off till 9pm every day, they will be too lethargic to reciprocate their partner’s love, not to mention having children. So one of the viable and practical solutions people will opt for is—polyamory.

Polyamory can be literally translated as many loves, or further defined as sharing love, romance, intimacy and affection with more than one person, openly and ethically by mutual agreement all around. Unsurprisingly, this seems to be a trend that is gaining momentum throughout the world, especially our western counterparts. Furthermore, more than 60 countries in the world recognise polygamy under their civil and traditional laws (Wikipedia, polyamory). The key factor that drives polyamory is the scepticism about marriage and the practicality of it in this era. Coincidentally, Aldous Huxley did play around with the idea of polyamory in his book (Brave New World) when he mentioned this as a key catalyst in forming utopia as open relationships, compared to monogamous, will eliminate any jealousy or suspicion that will consequently fizzle into a sour, spiteful acrimonious relationship. This resonates with the gist of polyamory as openness, trust, respect and sharing of unconditional love is prioritized. Polyamorists claim that the term ‘jealousy’ has been substituted with the opposite—‘compersion’  which means the feeling of joy that comes from knowing that the one you love is well loved by someone else. The fact that polyamory is about humans caring for each other without trying to own or possess each other reinforces the idea. A quote from a polyamorist: “Love should be unconditional, rather than the monogamous proposition of ‘I will love you on the condition that you will not love anyone else’. Love is infinite, and not a finite commodity. If you can love your first child as much as you love your second child, why not extend your love to more than one person?” (The Star Mag, 14^th Jan)

A typical hypothetical example of people involved in polyamory is Celeste, 28, who earns about RM25k a month and is seeking companionship but does not want commitment or emotional attachment. She will divide her attention among Mark, her date cum romancing partner; Ken, her travel cum romancing partner; Clement, her sports and date partner. Different partners fulfil different needs.

So will this relationship fail in the long run? Definitely, and it’s just not my cup of tea.

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