Arcana III: What Am I Like?

Arcana III: What Am I Like?
by Pey Pey Oh

 * To My Darling Friend Kenny Mah: Happy Birthday *

“One day, the burning tower will stop burning and I will stop falling out of windows, will stop being hit with bricks, will stop choking on smoke. I’ll stagger out taking deep breaths and bandages.”

- Only in my Dreams

I donʼt wish it
On anyone but,
I AM the Tower.
If you meet me,
Watch out:
The strike is coming and
Your life will never
Be the same,
I am the agent of Change.
The sound of walls
Collapsing,
Everywhere: Fire.
Underneath,
Drip drip drip,
Erosion.

Thereʼs always Water,
At the Heart of the matter:
I am a maiden
Looking at her naked self.
Reflection.
Frankly, itʼs where
I Am always
Hoping to return,
This distant light–
On desolate shores.

I want to be that
Cool drink at
The end
Of the long road.
Nurturing the earth.
That place between
Moon and magician.
That place between
Dream and creation.
The secret knowledge,
Behind the curtain of
Pomegranates.

Both foolish
And angelic,
I want to laugh
At the edge of the cliff,
To know if the dream
Of the butterfly is true,
With only a small dog
Of caution nipping at
My heels.

Apprentice to
The alchemy
Of opposites,
I want to know how to take
The measures,
To be fractured into
Colours by the sun,
To dispense healing
Potions to everyone.

Listen to this poem:


© Pey Pey Oh 2010


Pey Pey Oh has been published in various small magazines along the way, like the ones universities publish, or Magma. Mainly she has a problem sending out things by snail mail, so if she can't hand it to you or send you an email, she's in trouble. She likes plants a lot, especially if they're aromatic, but she's really bad at watering them. Good thing it rains a lot in UK where she lives. She likes coming and hanging out with the Malaysian Poets once a year when she visits home, and loves to read at Readings. Plus, she also likes to go eating with the Food Bloggers, that's her other best activity which makes her feel more Malaysian. One of her ambitions is that she'd like to be "Awae wi' tha faeries" - and that's with a Scots accent - but mostly she's a lazy cat that needs a kicking by her friends to send out stuff. So, she thanks everyone.