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| Credit: FB group: Rawthers
Penang circa mid-1960
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There was once a time, a few years ago, there was a spate when many of my relatives had given up on their motherland, turned their back on Malaysia and started looking around for greener pastures. I wondered how Mother Malaysia would feel to see one by one, her children, after years of nurturing them, after growing so big and strong, feel compelled to fly away from their roost. Like a proud mother seeing her kids having a mind of their own, she must be immersed in a kind of bitter-sweet feeling.
Like a flight of swallows,
you came all stocks and barrels,
from Swatow,
from Coimbatore,
Looking for a peace of mind,
you scaled the high seas and brine.
You were hungry, I fed your soul,
you had shivers, I showed you warmth.
you were homeless, I gave you home.
you were stateless, I was your hope.
Under the yellow umbrella,
and a piece of cloth,
you had dignity, camaraderie, integrity.
a history, a legacy,
an emblem, an anthem.
The colours to spill your crimson.
Now that you have wings,
you can expand your span,
once an ugly duckling,
majestically now a swan,
I remain your dodo,
Flightless, lifeless, brainless, valueless,
And cared less.
I am not up to your mark
not up to your spark,
no path to walk.
you want to fly,
to reach high up in the sky.
you peacocked to new horizons,
no future, you cite as reasons,
you curse me, you betray me
still, I don't call it treason.
A summer love, a puppy love,
the morning after, the hangover,
a one night stand,
a nightmare to be got over?
I have my desires too,
To progress like the red dot,
And shine like the rising sun too.
Not just a chicken feed to the rot.
I stay regal, guarding,
patient, majestic,
hawking over the nest
providing a haven for the crows and the rest.
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