pantun for an angsana
Joshua Ip

 

when are you going to listen to the wind,

the rain that is no longer euphony,

before you leap, angsana, spread your wings

and float to where they have no name for “tree”?

 

the rain that is no longer euphony

or lullaby, hushes your yellow bloom –

you float to where they have no name. for tree

will fall, yet fruit hangs pregnant in the womb

 

and lullabies hush where the yellow blooms

and poems end where each new seed begins.

will fall and fruit hang pregnant? in the womb,

when are you going to listen to the wind?

Listen to the poem read out loud by the author

This poem sprouted in Singapore, in response to “native nostalgia” by Malebo Sephodi in South Africa.
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Joshua Ip is a Singaporean poet, editor, and literary organizer. He has published six-ish poetry collections, won the Singapore Literature Prize for his debut, sonnets from the singlish (Math Paper Press, 2012), and placed in three different categories of the Golden Point Award. His latest collection of anachronistic translations of Tang Poetry, translations to the tanglish, was published in Aug 2022. He has edited eleven literary anthologies, including the A Luxury and SingPoWriMo series. He directs Sing Lit Station, an overactive literary charity that runs initiatives including SingPoWriMo, SEAPoWriMo and poetry.sg. He received Singapore’s Young Artist Award (2017). www.joshuaip.com