I am but an echo through epic time

From distant voices long forgotten

Yet, still, resounding, resonating

Throughout the cathedral of my heart

Maybe, it was from Calliope’s grotto

Or from Sappho’s own tongue?

Maybe, from an ancient eastern sage

Or from a young, romantic poet?

Before his brush and scroll

Too many dynasties ago

Hear the echoes gathering!

Through countless ages, mingling

Of tears, tragedies, loves and joys

A celestial choir where I am but one.

Cheung-Ling Wong

My life unfurled, but a mere petal

A flower I do not make

For the bud belongs to this age

And this age belongs to all

Thus, may all our petals unfold together

That, we may all become witnesses

To the full flowering and sharing

Of our golden, golden age.

Cheung-Ling Wong

I saw it not in the stars

I saw it not in the cracks

On tortoise shell or thigh bone

Nor in the entrails of sacrifice

Nor through the manic eyes

Of seers, or prophets most dear

I’m just a simple man

With humble eyes and sights

I saw it all — with no surprise

All — in Human Nature.

Cheung-Ling Wong

If I had joy, I would not be here

Nor would these words be ever made

If I had eaten sweetness and bliss

You all will be at some other place

Had I not shed any tears for so long

Now will be a wholly different vibe

If I had not struggled all the time

I may never have shared your company

And the presence of your souls

What was done can never be undone

As is this present hour before us

And despite all the loss and sorrows

I’m not sorry for what I’ve found.

Cheung-Ling Wong

Wounds are for healing

Even an irritating scratch

Needs your attention

Many have died from less

Many were sent mad

Teetering over the edge

With the slightest suggestion

Yet, often that’s all it takes

To heal that wound

Or raise the long dead.

Cheung-Ling Wong

A tramp offered me his coins

In all his foetid rags

An old blind lady

Living in squalor

Emptied her purse for me

Obviously, in shock, I refused

It wasn’t the money I needed

For they gave me so much more

They gave me my life

They gave me my soul

Upon a silvery platter

Long lost lessons in love

For decades I could not find

In all the grand and gilded halls

Or by the hearths of plenty

But in the cold, gloom and misery

Where, for the very fist time

I felt my heart and all mankind’s.

Cheung-Ling Wong

Wishing me, crash and burn!

Download after download

I crunch the diabolical data

Gigabyte after gigabyte

My brain may reach its limits

But I think and feel with soul

And all life’s hurt and spite

Drown and dissolve

Within my fathomless static

Quantum oceans deep

To be reimagined — realised

From that which was maligned

The digital and mental

To new systems spiritual

That life may then compute.

Cheung-Ling Wong

Decontaminate

No need to worry

Dehumidify

No need to sweat

Deconstruct

No need for burden

Dehumanise

No need to love or care.

Cheung-Ling Wong

Have I changed beyond recognition?

If my child-self saw me now

Will he cry, will he be angry?

Or will he jump for joy?

Or be in for a big surprise!

So many dreams dashed

Upon milestones of years

There are none left to spare

Yet, the years pile high

And their paths are steep

Little boy now understands

So lonely in his sleep.

Cheung-Ling Wong

I drifted away like a cloud

But I leave raindrops in puddles

So, that you will always know

That you are never forgotten

Reflected in my depths

A loving image of you

I wandered a great distance

Like a mountain goat

Where you cannot see me

But, where I can behold

All of you, so much the better

For you are far greater

Than my love had ever known

I may have gone away

But my back is never turned

Always looking out for you

From deep within

For we are all made of memories

Both the living and the dead.

Cheung-Ling Wong