Listening to Mukesh - Pooja Nansi

Driving to your block,
I slide in my father’s cassette
of old Hindi songs and
I am humming in twilight
to the legendary
playback singer’s baritone

Uriah - Theophilus Kwek

There were rumours, even in the camp: how she would call
to passing merchants, bathe on the roof. Sell what was mine,
ours, night upon silken night. Once, pitched near Jerusalem,
I broke ranks in the evening, left my dagger by the door. Found her
painting her lips in the mirror, jewellery strewn across the floor.

Apple - Grace Chia

                                  A

                                         P

          It's                        p               not

   that Adam didn't      l        know what he was

 in for when he took    e   a bite of it; he wanted

Rainforest - Eileen Chong

It is hard to carry these vowels.

Lost in translation—or found.

My namesake, so greatly desired

Funeral Song - Tan Lixin

Not a melody,

not the voice of a songbird,

but quiet trails of tears,

silent prayers, the coarse cries

of a grown man.

To Tigerland - Wang Gungwu

The lallangs leer at the breed of mosquitoes,

The parangs rust in their sheaths.

There the wood-smoke has turned to dust,

There the children make their wreaths.

Round the Clock - Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé

pool used to be free at chong fan’s:
we knocked back tequila shots in personalised mugs
slow-cooked soup too, then sweet, creamy coffee
from sulawesi, the longhouse ceiling in teak

Hazards Related to the Setting up of a Christmas Tree - Yong Shu Hoong

Today, I receive a circular with this warning:
As we celebrate the festive season, it is important
to be aware of the possible hazards…

Good gods - Elancharan Gunasekaran

Good
gods